I Was Here
by Madd.Elise
Summary: You wanted Lily. You got her. Now sit back and enjoy the ride. This is a sequel to my first fanfic "Drops of Jupiter". I recommend reading it first. This story is about Lily Kane, Duncan's daughter. It is mainly about her senior year at Neptune. There will be relationship drama! Of course LoVe, MaDi and others make important appearances! Characters listed as LoVe, no Lily option..
1. Chapter 1 Wild at heart

I Was Here

**AN: Hello everyone :) This is my second story, and a sequel to Drops of Jupiter. I'd recommend you read it before you read this one. This follows on right after and follows Lily Kane (Duncan's daughter) through her senior year at Neptune High. It's been more difficult developing nearly all of my own characters for it, so I hope it's all right. As always, please review and let me know what you think. Feel free to make suggestions or requests. Also, I like to use song lyrics to help shape my writing. My last story was base around one song, and this one will use various songs and lyrics to help build chapters.**

Chapter 1 – Wild at heart

_Long hot summer, a couple kids runnin' loose and wild_

Lily ran down the beach, her hair streaming. The sun was hot, her skin was tanned, her eyes dancing with mischief. Her purple bikini left little to the imagination, a fact her boyfriend, who was chasing her, was very aware of.

"Lily Kane! Just stop and give me my phone," Scott shouted, he wasn't angry however.

Lily just laughed and turned around, running backwards and dangling the phone in his direction.

"If you don't stop I will catch you," Scott told her, pretending to be threatening.

"So catch me!" Lily replied.

Lily turned around and continued running. Scott followed in hot pursuit. He gained ground on her quickly and when he was close enough he launched himself at her and tackled her to the ground, careful not to crush her smaller frame.

"Pinned you again," he said with a laugh.

"_The Lion King_ would be your favourite childhood movie," Lily said giggling.

"So, can I have my phone now?" Scott asked.

"I have a price," Lily said cheekily. She moved her face closer to his, her stomach tingling. No matter how many times he kissed her or held her in his arms, it still made her heart race. "Kiss me."

"Oh, I guess so," Scott said, pretending to be reluctant.

He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. He was still lying on top of her, so when he pulled his face back Lily dropped his phone on the sand and grabbed his neck and pulled his mouth back to hers.

A little while later they detangled their limbs, Scott stood up and pulled his girlfriend up from the sand. They both brushed themselves off and Scott finally got his hands on his phone and quickly checked his messages. He took Lily's hand in his and they started back down the beach, at a more sedate pace than before.

"So, why did you want your phone so badly?" Lily asked.

"Unlike you, I have not been left to my own devices for the last few weeks of the summer," Scott answered. "I was supposed to let Mom know my plans for the evening hours ago."

"Aww it's so cute that your mom still checks up on you," Lily said, naughtily pinching his cheek. "And I still have chaperones, as you well know. Uncle Logan and Aunt Veronica check up on me all the time, seeing as I'm staying with them."

"I know, I know, and at least Logan is not as scary as your dad," Scott said.

"My dad's only scary to you," Lily replied laughing. "He likes you, and you know it."

"Yeah, I know, it's just, he's your dad," Scott explained unnecessarily.

"Isn't that the truth," Lily remarked. "Don't worry, Uncle Logan will be super scary when Aubrey becomes old enough to date. In fact, I don't know if she'll ever get to date!"

"I'm sure she's worried about that, you know, being a baby," Scott said dryly.

"Hey, hang on, what exactly are your plans for tonight? I don't remember you asking me to do anything," Lily said suddenly, Scott's earlier words just registering in her love-addled mind.

"Oh, I've got plans with the boys. It's the end of summer and finally everyone is back from being away, so we're getting together at Jim's. Nothing big, and no other girls," Scott answered.

"Oh right, of course. I'm not a jealous girlfriend, I trust you. Besides, look at me, you'd never cheat on **me**," Lily stated, her eyes dancing with laughter.

"You say that like you're joking, but you know you're gorgeous," Scott said, wrapping his arms around her. "And, I would **never** cheat on you."

The young couple had reached their towels on the sand and they stopped to collect them. They walked hand-in-hand up to Veronica and Logan Echolls' house where Logan was sitting on the balcony, holding his two-and-a-half month old daughter, Aubrey.

"Look Aubrey, it's Aunt Lily with her boyfriend. Let's get something clear now princess, you may hear the word boyfriend, and your friends might have boyfriends, but you will never, ever be allowed to have a boyfriend. Maybe when you're 40," Logan told the oblivious baby. Aubrey just smiled at her father and Lily and Scott smothered grins.

Veronica came out onto the balcony with a pitcher of lemonade and said, "Poor Logan, this heat must be making you suffer from delusions."

"I am feeling a little under the weather," Logan replied. "I think a kiss might make me all better though."

Veronica winked at Lily from her place behind Logan. Lily moved over towards Logan, but addressed Aubrey, "Hello baby. You're looking very adorable in pink suit."

She then kissed Logan's cheek and said, "There you go Uncle Logan. You should be feeling much better now."

Veronica laughed and said, "Yes Logan, you should feel much better now. How about you go and put our daughter to bed?"

Logan got up with Aubrey, grumbling good-naturedly.

"Are you staying for dinner Scott?" Veronica asked.

"No, thank you," Scott answered. "I've got plans with the boys. In fact, I'd better head off now."

"I'll walk you out," Lily said.

They walked together to the front door, Scott kissed her thoroughly, and Lily trotted to her bedroom – or the bedroom she was using at the Echolls' – to change out of her bikini. She went back out to the balcony where Veronica was sitting, watching the roll of the ocean waves. Veronica looked at Lily and smiled indulgently.

"You know, I think it helps that I never knew you when you were a little girl, otherwise the look of wonderstruck love on your face might be a little hard for me to cope with!" Veronica remarked.

"You're not bothered by having Scott around?" Lily asked.

"Of course not sweetie, I think he's lovely, and I think it's lovely that you're happy with him," Veronica replied. "I was mainly thinking that one day my little girl will look at a boy the way you look at Scott, and I'm glad that I don't have to worry about that with you," Veronica explained.

"Don't worry about that yet Aunt Veronica! Aubrey's just a baby, you're borrowing trouble," Lily said with a laugh.

"Oh you're right. Well, do you want to go shopping for back to school clothes tomorrow? I know you're perfectly capable of going on your own or with your friends, and you have more money than God, but–" Veronica said.

Lily cut her off and replied, "Of course I want you to come shopping with me!"

Veronica smiled and said, "Wonderful. School starts in five days, so I figure going tomorrow is a good idea."

"Great idea! You'd better try and get a good night's sleep tonight!" Lily said cheerfully.

_I ain't here to do anything half-way_

"You weren't joking about needing a good night sleep!" Veronica groaned, sinking into a chair in the food court, dropping her many bags on the ground.

Lily slid into another seat giggling. "We've only been here for a few hours, we've got heaps of shops to visit still," Lily said.

"I'm too old for this," Veronica melodramatically wailed.

"Not really, you're practically as young as me," Lily retorted. "Well, sort of. You seem barely older than me, most of the time."

Veronica smiled at the compliment, she knew it was more than a compliment. It was a testament to how much Lily loved her and how special their relationship was.

"Well then, let me have a drink, and I'm sure I'll be ready to go again," Veronica replied.

"Okay. And I promise, only 4 more stores, then we can go home," Lily said. "I wonder how Uncle Logan is going with Aubrey?"

"Oh, he'll be fine," Veronica said airily. "You know he worships the ground she lies on. I think Uncle Dick was going to bring Caroline over and he and Logan were going to let them have a play day. I almost wish I was there to watch, but I think Aunt Mac was going to check up on them, so I'm not worried."

"Caroline is so cute!" Lily said. "I love watching her toddle around after Uncle Dick. I can't wait for their second baby to be born."

"Well you'll only have to wait six-and-a-half months," Veronica replied with a smile.

"It will be so nice if you all have kids around the same age! Maybe I'll even get some siblings," Lily said wistfully.

"I'm sure they'll both want to," Veronica replied. "I'm kind of hoping all our kids will be friends. Life in Neptune is crazy, but I'm secretly hoping our lives will end up looking like a 1970s TV series."

Several hours later Veronica walked tiredly through her front door, with Lily following happily behind, though truth be told, she looked a little tired too. Mac, Dick and Logan were sitting on lounges in the living room, Caroline was sitting playing with a few toys, and Aubrey was in her bouncer.

Mac grinned sympathetically at Veronica and said, "Long day?"

"You'll never know!" Veronica replied.

"Oh I'd say she will," Logan remarked. "Caroline doesn't look like she'll be a tomboy, and Dick won't be the one to take her shopping."

"Oh, we'll just do that all online," Mac said unconcernedly.

Lily had dumped all her bags on the floor and sunk into a chair.

"Are you sure you've got enough clothes, Lily-love?" Dick asked with amusement.

"I think so, at least until winter," Lily retorted.

"She didn't even buy everything she tried on!" Veronica exclaimed.

"Shopping is an art, you know that Aunt Ronica, besides, you did have fun, admit it," Lily replied.

Veronica grinned and the others shook their heads.

"Anyway, I think I'll take this home now, I won't need most of it until school goes back, and Dad promised he'd be home by then," Lily commented. "I'll be back for dinner, and to play with Aubrey."

Lily made several trips to her car, stowing bags filled with skirts, shirts, dresses, jeans, shorts, jackets, gym gear, and countless pairs of shoes in her trunk. In her room she left a few bags, ones containing new swimwear and a couple of summer dresses, in preparation for the final parties of the summer.

That night she sat on her bed talking animatedly to her current closest friend from school, Keira, about her shopping. Keira Anderson was the daughter of a wealthy businessman. She and Lily were on the cheerleading team together and Keira was one of the nicer 09ers.

"Melanie is going to have a party two days before school goes back," Keira told Lily. "It should be pretty good, her parents are out of town, so we'll have the run of the place.

"The Wheeler's house is good for parties," Lily agreed. "So are we going for summer casual, or are we opting for little party dresses?"

"Definitely little party dresses," Keira replied. "The last party of the summer has to be done in style!"

"Well now that we've sorted that I think it's about time I called Scott, I haven't spoken to him all day," Lily told Keira.

"You two are so cute!" Keira said with a sigh. "You're probably going to get married."

"I'm seventeen!" Lily replied, nonetheless pleased at her friend's thoughts.

"Well, you haven't slept with him, and he's still with you, so clearly he loves you," Keira reasoned.

"You say that like I should be sleeping with him," Lily said.

"No, no, I just mean it's a good way of telling his true intentions. If you aren't ready I totally respect that," Keira returned.

"Thanks Keira. Anyway, I'll see you at Melanie's! Night," Lily finished.

"Bye Lil," Keira responded.

Lily hit Scott's speed dial and waited for him to pick up.

"Hey beautiful," his voice greeted her.

"Hey Scott," Lily replied. "How was your boy's night?"

"It was good to see all the guys again, but we didn't really get up to anything wild. Just drinking, a bit of poker and some video games," Scott replied.

"Well I think we can fix that on Saturday," Lily replied. "You know Melanie's having a party?"

"I did actually. She and Jim have been hooking up over the summer, and he mentioned the party last night," Scott answered.

"Well, pick me up at 8 then?" Lily suggested.

"You bet," Scott said.

Saturday night the doorbell rang and Lily flew downstairs, her purse in hand. She stuck her head into the lounge room and said, "See you tomorrow," to Veronica and Logan.

"Have fun!" Logan called.

"Be safe," Veronica added.

Lily opened the door, stepped outside before Scott could step in, kissed him and said, "Let's go!"

Scott stood on the spot, staring at Lily.

"What?" Lily asked in amusement.

"Wow," Scott managed. "You look incredible."

Lily was wearing a little silver dress, it had cap sleeves with a plunging neckline, and was very short, exposing her long legs. Her shoes were purple and her hair was straight.

"I had a feeling," Lily replied. "Now, let's go. I'm ready to party!"

_That rebel moon is shinin', those stars burn like diamonds_

Lily was dancing outside with her friends at Melanie's party. The music was loud, the alcohol flowed freely, and the moon was shining in the night sky. The place was filled with the wealthy teenagers of the 90909 zipcode, dressed in the most expensive clothes money could buy, and partying as only rich kids can. Lily had her arms in the air and was moving her body to the rhythm and singing along with Keira. Scott was watching her from a little distance away where he was talking to some of his friends. Lily caught his eye and smiled at him, then turned back to Keira and continued to dance. Scott set his beer down and made his way through the crowd of dancing people and moved up behind Lily and slipped his arms around her waist. She turned around on the spot and slid her arms around his neck, dancing against him.

Lily tilted her head up and Scott obligingly kissed her thoroughly, earning a few whoops from various friends. Lily paid them no attention and continued to dance. Having people focus on her every move was part of her life and it was a part she tried not to dwell on.

Later in the night Lily was sitting around with her friends, or subjects, whichever term you prefer. They were drinking and talking animatedly, discussing their plans for the new school year, their final year. Cheerleading was a key topic, with all the girls being on the squad the previous year.

"Are you going for captain again this year Keira?" Sophie asked. Sophie Turner, her 09ers status gained through her father's position of CEO in a multinational company.

"I don't think so," Keira replied. "I'll still go out for the team, but I don't really want to be captain this year."

"I think Lily should do it," Mia offered. Mia Faulkner was tall, with long brown hair, and had inherited the looks of her mother who had been a model.

"I don't know," Lily said uncertainly.

"You'd be great," Melanie agreed. "It's your senior year, just go for it!"

Lily knew that if she wanted the spot it would be hers easily, and she also knew that it could be hard to tell whether her friends really thought she'd be great or whether they just wanted to flatter her.

"I'll think about it," Lily replied, deciding that if she did do it, it would be on her own terms and for her own reasons.

"You know who's looking hot?" Sophie began.

"What is this, _Mean Girls_?" Melanie interjected laughing.

"Oh shut up," Sophie retorted good-naturedly. "Liam Armistead."

"He always looks hot," Mia commented.

"Yeah, but he's looking super hot at the moment," Sophie pressed.

"It's a pity he's so full of himself," Lily said uninterestedly.

"Yeah, well we all know you have your perfect man," Melanie replied. "Doesn't mean the rest of us don't want new boyfriends for this year."

"I don't," Keira said. "I quite like my boyfriend."

The girls all laughed.

"What's not to like about him?" Lily questioned rhetorically with a giggle.

Keira was dating Ethan Masters and he was rather easy on the eyes. Brown wavy hair, tanned skin, all the 09ers some kind of tan, warm hazel eyes and a divine jaw line.

A little while later Lily found Scott and cuddled into his side and said, "I'm ready to go when you are."

"I see we've reached the 'I've-had-too-much-to-drink stage' and you're tired and cuddly," Scott said with a chuckle.

"Are you alright to drive?" Lily asked.

"I'm fine, I only had two beers, and the last one was hours ago," Scott reassured her.

"Good, cause it's after 2 and my dad is coming home some time today, and it'd probably be good if I was awake to see him," Lily remarked.

"It'd be even better if you weren't hungover!" Scott retorted.

"Shut up and take me home," Lily replied, sticking her tongue out immaturely.

"Your wish is my command," Scott said with a bow. He then took her hand and they began their exit, saying goodbye to various friends along the way.

When Lily awoke some hours later, to Veronica calling her name, her eyes were heavy and her head ached slightly. Still, it had been a good party, and a glass of orange juice and some painkillers would fix her up.

"Did you hear me Lily?" Veronica was saying.

"Sorry, what?" Lily replied.

"Your dad just rang, he and Eva will be home in an hour," Veronica stated.

Lily flew into action and forty-five minutes later she was sitting in her own home, waiting for her dad and stepmom. Technically Evelyn was her stepmother, but to Lily she would just continue to be Eva. Lily liked Eva, she made her dad happy, she was nice to Lily, and that was all Lily could really ask for. Lily dressed and gone straight home, taking her overnight bag with her. She'd already moved the rest of her belongings home in preparation for Duncan's return. Now that Lily had had time to wake up, her eyes were bright, her face radiant, and she was dressed simply in a pair of denim shorts and a bale blue t-shirt. Her hair was pulled up into a casual pony tail and she was wearing the L pendant necklace she always wore, the one that had been her Aunt Lilly's, and that her father had given to her.

The minute Lily heard the car pulled in the drive she jumped out of her seat and rushed out the front and leapt into her father's arms.

"Daddy!" Lily squealed.

Duncan held her tightly and said, "Oh I've missed you my Lily."

Lily released Duncan and hugged Eva as well.

Once they had settled inside Lily asked about their trip, was given a large pile of presents, and they all settled down to lunch.

The three of them spent the last afternoon of Lily's summer on the beach, Eva lying in the sun, and Duncan and Lily playing in the waves.

Later that night Eva was cleaning up in the kitchen, leaving Duncan and Lily to have some father-daughter time out on the balcony.

"Did you have fun while I was gone?" Duncan asked.

"Yeah, it was a good few weeks," Lily replied. "I spent a lot of it with Scott, and I spent a lot of time on the beach. There were a few parties and Aunt Veronica and I did some shopping."

"You don't do, 'some shopping', you do **a lot** of shopping," Duncan said with a chuckle.

"It's all true," Lily agreed grinning.

"Are you looking forward to tomorrow?" Duncan asked.

"Yeah," Lily answered. "I think it will be a fun year, and it will certainly be the last one like it."

"That's very true," Duncan agreed.

"The girls want me to be the captain of the cheerleading team this year," Lily told Duncan. "I'm not sure if I want to."

"Well I know you can do anything you set your mind to," Duncan replied. "You're just like Aunt Lilly in that way, that's for certain," Duncan said chuckling.

"I think I will probably do it," Lily owned. "I love cheering, and it would be something good to add to my senior year. People always say that their senior year was the best, so I'm hoping mine will be."

"My senior year was my best year," Duncan remarked.

"Why Daddy? You never finished it, you fled the country, Mom died, you left all your friends," Lily said puzzled.

"You're forgetting something import, Lily-love," Duncan said softly. "I got you, you were the best thing that ever happened to me."

Lily stood up and went to sit on her father's lap. She kissed his cheek and said, "Thank you Daddy, I love you."

They stayed like that for a little while, Duncan enjoying holding his baby girl, Lily savouring her father's presence, and both looking up in contentment at the sparking stars in the sky.

**AN: Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think :)**


	2. Chapter 2 Back to school

**AN: I mentioned before that I like to use songs to shape my writing, and seeing as this chapter is about going back to school, I wanted a song to match. This one seemed to jump out at me, even if it's not entirely accurate, it's just kind of humorous. It's from A Very Potter Musical, which I love, and if you like Harry Potter I deeply recommend that you watch it. So, read away, and please let me know what you think :) Also, I'm not American, so please bear with any errors I make regarding the American High School system!**

Chapter 2 – Back to school

_I gotta get back to Hogwarts, I gotta get back to school_

Lily pulled into the parking lot at Neptune High on the first day on school. She climbed out of her red BMW, grabbed her bag and headed towards the school buildings, and found Scott on the way.

"Good morning," Lily greeted him and he kissed her in reply.

"Well, here we are," Scott said simply. "Ready to rule the school?"

"As always," Lily answered with a grin. "And here come my minions."

"You're lucky I know you well, or I'd think you actually didn't like them," Scott remarked.

"Of course I like them, most of the time," Lily replied.

The day started as normal, with people rushing around greeting those they hadn't seen for a while. Teachers were in a flurry trying to organise students who were not fond of being organised, especially after a long, carefree summer. By lunchtime new students had found somewhere to sit, at least for the first day. Lockers were assigned, schedules had been passed out, everyone knew which teachers they were stuck with, and which friends they shared classes with. Announcements were made about sport tryouts and performing arts areas.

For the first day back Lily had chosen a favourite new pair of jeans, paired with a shirt and jacket. The summer had been hot, but there was a little chill to the fall air already. Lily surveyed the new students and concluded that there would be no new additions to the senior's 09er clique for their senior year. Of course there were some new freshmen 09ers, but they were of little concern to Lily.

Walking towards their lunch table, Lily and Keira were bemoaning the fact that they were stuck with the grumpy Mrs Ralphs for History. From behind them came a wolf whistle, and "Looking good Kane!"

Lily turned around in irritation to see Liam Armistead smirking at her, and raking his eyes up and down her form.

"So good to see you Liam," Lily said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "But, pleasant as this has been, I'm going to go and eat lunch, and at an entirely different table to you."

Lily spun on her heel with Keira following after her and sat down in a little annoyance at her preferred lunch table.

Keira finally said, "How can someone so hot be such a–"

"Jerk?" Lily finished.

"Well yeah," Keira agreed.

"Who's a jerk?" Scott asked, having just sat down next to Lily, kissing her quickly.

"Liam," Keira informed him. "He was hitting on your girlfriend again."

"Do I need to talk to him?" Scott asked Lily protectively.

"No, I can handle him," Lily answered. "He's just annoying more than anything."

Mia and Sophie had joined the table, along with Ethan.

"Have you decided whether you'll go for captain?" Mia asked Lily.

"I think I will, it could be fun," Lily replied.

"Awesome!" Sophie said enthusiastically.

"We have a couple of spots to fill, don't we?" Mia asked.

"Yeah, tryouts are Thursday," Lily answered. "Then we'll have a vote for captain."

Everyone present knew this was merely a formality seeing as Lily had said she wanted the position.

"We've got football tryouts Wednesday," Ethan remarked. "I can't wait to see the new freshmen midgets."

"Don't be too mean," Keira admonished Ethan. He chose to kiss her in reply, and any further thoughts of traumatised freshmen left her mind.

The day ended with Lily arriving home with a pile of homework and quite an admirable amount of enthusiasm and ambition. She set straight to work at her homework, deciding that if she wanted to make her dad proud and do well this year and get into a good college, on her own merit, she needed to work well so that she could play well too. Preliminary cheer routine planning followed homework and Duncan and Evelyn were both still at work. Eager to see someone after her first day at school, Lily slipped her running gear on and jogged over to see Veronica. The Echolls' place was barely ten minutes at a light jog, so it wasn't long before Lily was sitting at the kitchen bench, bouncing Aubrey while Veronica attended to the batch of snickerdoodles she had in the oven.

"I hoped you'd drop by," Veronica said, her explanation for the snickerdoodles. "Besides, even if you hadn't come by, someone would have eaten these," Veronica said chuckling.

"You would've given someone else my back to school snickerdoodles?" Lily asked, aghast. She then grinned saucily at Veronica, who laughed.

"So, how was it? Are the seniors ruling the school?" Veronica joked.

"Scott beat you to that joke, but yes, my crown is as prominent as ever," Lily answered. "And it was good to be back, familiar I guess. Friends, teachers, loads of people, Pirate Point lunches, the crashing of locker doors, the usual irritating jerks, homework," Lily summarised.

"Sounds a combination of good and bad, blending together to make mundane?" Veronica suggested.

"I don't know. For what it is, I like it. Plus there are more exciting things coming. Football, cheerleading, Homecoming, those kinds of things," Lily added.

"Sounds good, and on that note, you should hand me Aubrey and jog home, your dad and Evelyn should be there any time from now," Veronica told her.

Lily glanced at the clock, realised the time, kissed Aubrey, gave her to Veronica and ran out the door saying, "Thanks for the snickerdoodles!"

_Where everybody knows I'm cool_

Wednesday found Lily walking down the Neptune High hallway in the morning. People literally parted for her at her approach. Everyone who didn't know who she was on the first day of school certainly knew by now. People stopped to stare at her as she walked past, various things written on their faces, envy, adoration, dislike, intimidation. Lily enjoyed the positive attention, ignored the negative and continued on to her next class.

Lily sat down next to Mia in English and Mia turned to her and said, "So, are we watching the football tryouts this afternoon?"

"What for? We're going to end up watching whoever makes it for the whole season," Lily replied.

"Lily Kane! What happened to your usual school spirit?" Mia asked in astonishment. "Your boyfriend will be there running around and looking hot, and we'll get to checkout who we're cheering for, and who is worth dating!"

Lily laughed, "Fine, we'll go, but you know all the seniors, surely you don't want to date anyone younger?"

"Not really, but people get hotter of the summer, football tryouts are a really good time to indulge in that evaluation," Mia said with a grin.

Their teacher entered the room, commanding their attention and they settled down to the joys of Gothic Literature.

The end of the day found Lily, Mia, Sophie, Melanie and Keira in gym gear and on the playing fields, watching the boys run up and down and hit various people and things, under the pretence of stretching to prepare for their tryouts the next day. Of course this left them wearing tiny shorts and tight tank tops so it was very easy for the nearby boys to be checking them out too.

A stray ball ended up makings its way to right next to where they were sitting in a group and Liam jogged down to collect it. He looked salaciously at Lily, smiled arrogantly at her and jogged back up the field. Lily continued to ignore him and several minutes later waved enthusiastically at Scott and smiled prettily at him.

A little while later the tryouts appeared to be winding up, so the girls finished their fake stretching, gathered their things and made their way together towards the parking lot.

"So Mia, was that as useful as you hoped it would be?" Lily asked amusedly.

"You bet! Liam is actually looking super hot this year," Mia replied.

"I told you!" Sophie crowed.

"Liam's such a player though," Melanie remarked.

"You're just saying that because he dated you for a week then dumped you," Keira snarked.

"Yeah, well that, and because it's true!" Melanie replied.

"This is pointless," Mia remarked. "Just because he's hot doesn't mean he'll want to date any of us. He's the quarter back, and the 09er king essentially."

"Yeah," Sophie agreed. "And speaking of that, I think the king thinks the queen should be with him."

"Don't be stupid," Lily said with frustration, tired of the focus on Liam.

"I don't know Lil, I think she might be right," Melanie agreed. "I mean he's always checking you out, and flirting with you."

"And he asked you out a few times last year," Mia added.

"Can we just shut up about Liam?" Lily said grumpily.

Mia, Melanie and Sophie looked forlorn, but shut up. Keira had one thing to say, "They're not wrong Lily. It looks like he wants you, but that's all I'll say about it." Then she added quietly and ominously, "For now."

"Great, well I'm staying in reality where I love my boyfriend, and now we're all going to go home now, and I'll see you all tomorrow for cheerleading tryouts!" Lily said in a no-nonsense tone.

She practically huffed to her car, then in a fit of remorse at her childish behaviour waved at her friends, and blew a kiss towards Scott who had just appeared after the tryouts. She still drove fairly quickly out of the parking lot, in an attempt to blow off steam.

The next day at school Lily was feeling happy and like her normal even-tempered self. She made her usual walk down the hall with everyone moving to accommodate her, almost involuntarily. Scott walked up and slipped his hand in hers and all seemed right in Lily's world.

Cheerleading tryouts went well, Lily and Keira handled them together, seeing as Lily was yet to be made the official captain. Scott, Ethan, Liam and several of their other 09er friends sat in the bleachers making no attempt at hiding the fact that they were checking the girls out. They made catcalls at various intervals and just generally looked like they were looking for trouble. Once the tryouts were over Lily and Keira were confident that there were a couple of suitable people to fill vacant spots and they were looking forward to starting training.

_No way this year anyone's gonna die, and it's gonna be totally awesome_

Friday evening arrived and it found everyone sitting out on the deck at the Casablancas home. The 09ers liked to party, but the end of the first week of school had not resulted in a large party, people merely had their own plans, so Lily was with her dad and Evelyn at Mac and Dick's. Veronica, Logan and Aubrey were there, along with Wallace, Amanda and Justin. It had been a beautiful fall day, and the air outside was still warm enough so that dinner could be eaten outdoors.

"So, you're head cheerleader now?" Dick asked.

Lily nodded and answered, "Yep, they counted the votes, and I'm in. We all knew it anyway."

"I loved cheerleaders," Dick said, sighing happily in memory.

Logan, Duncan and Wallace all grinned in agreement, while everyone else chose to ignore their trip down teenage-boy-memory-lane.

"So it was a good week?" Mac asked, moving on.

"Yeah, it was," Lily answered. "It's already shaping up to be a fun year. What was your first week of senior year like?" Lily asked innocently.

All the adults, bar Evelyn and Amanda, grimaced. The traumatic events of their senior year had never been told to Lily in detail, really all she had been told was that her mother died as a result of a tragic accident. She also knew some details of Veronica and Logan's dating history, but not well enough to understand the painful love triangle that had existed between Duncan, Veronica and Logan at the beginning of their senior year. Adding to the list of glossed over events, Lily also knew that Dick had once had a younger brother, but that he had died tragically.

"Funny you should ask that," Logan finally remarked uneasily. "Who wants to handle this one?"

Everyone looked at Veronica. Veronica looked at Mac, who looked at Dick, who cringed, then nodded. Mac smiled sadly at Veronica who took an enormous breath, steeling herself for the task over revisiting painful memories.

"Lily, you know Neptune has tended to be surrounded by tragic events," Veronica began. "Our senior year, particularly the first week was filled with tragedy. You know your mom, Meg, died as a result of an accident. Well, the accident was a bus crash our first week back. We were on a field trip, the 09ers took a limo back, and Meg stayed on the bus because she was mad with me. No, Duncan and Logan, let me tell it," Veronica reprimanded as both men started to interrupt.

"The bus crashed, everyone but Meg died. I should have been on the bus, I was on Weevil's bike instead. Uncle Logan skipped the trip because I was dating your dad again. Duncan, Dick and various others were in a limo because the bus stank. The bus stank because Dick's younger brother Cassidy planted a dead rat on it. Cassidy blew the bus up, that's why it crashed. Cassidy wanted the 09ers off before he blew up the bus. It doesn't matter why he blew it up Lily, all that matters is that Cassidy was troubled and hurt, none of the decisions he made were made in a right mind. We all made a lot of mistakes, and a whole bunch of them came to fruition, or were made in our senior year. What you've just heard is the condensed story, and if you want to know more, I'll explain more another time. We hadn't told you any of this before because we didn't want to burden you," Veronica finished.

Lily nodded slowly. "Okay then. Well I kind of feel like I've been hit on the head with a baseball bat. Here's to hoping no one dies my senior year," Lily remarked, trying to joke, but it just fell flat.

"Right, who wants dessert?" Mac asked brightly.

**AN: Thanks for reading :) As always, please let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3 We got the beat

Chapter 3 – We got the beat

_All the kids just getting out of school_

The 09er cheerleaders and football players were all leaving school together after practice on Tuesday. They all practiced three afternoons a week, and had a game basically every Friday night. It was common to have a party after the game, in particular for the 09ers. Most of the current 09ers, especially the seniors, were heavily involved in school sport, namely football and cheerleading. Therefore the social calendar revolved around them for the most part, at least during the fall. Homecoming was set for the second week in October, with the game on Friday night and the dance on the Saturday night.

"So, are you feeling good for your first game this Friday?" Lily asked Scott, who were walking hand-in-hand off to the side.

"I think we should win. We've got a good team, and Liam is actually a great quarter back," Scott answered. "Plus, you'll be dancing around and cheering for me, so that's a pretty good incentive."

"Good to know," Lily replied with a flirty grin. "Dad and Eva are both still at work, want to come over for a bit?"

Scott grinned at Lily and said, "Sounds good." He then grabbed her by the hand and almost dragged her towards his car.

"Ah, I drove myself, remember?" Lily remarked in amusement.

"Right, well, I'll see you at your house in a few minutes!" Scott replied, unperturbed. He kissed her quickly, then got into his car.

Lily walked over to car, chuckling quietly to herself at her boyfriend's behaviour. She waved at her friends who were still talking in a group at the edge of the parking lot, and called out, "We're going now! See you tomorrow!"

Lily tossed her gear into her backseat and set off towards her home. Scott was waiting out the front for her, and she grabbed her things and walked over to where he was standing. She slipped her hand into his and they walked to the front door, and Lily let them in. Once inside Scott grabbed Lily and pushed her up against the wall, kissing her thoroughly. Lily's bag slipped to the floor and she threw her arms around Scott's neck, kissing him back enthusiastically.

They continued to kiss as they made their way from the front of the house to the living room. They fell onto a lounge, still kissing. Scott's shirt went over his head and was thrown onto the floor, quickly followed by Lily's. Their bodies were pressed closely together, their hearts racing, their panting became gradually heavier.

Eventually Lily pulled back reluctantly from Scott, caught her breath and said, "We should stop, Eva or my dad will home soon."

Scott kissed her gently and nodded. "Want to do some homework then?"

"Sure," Lily replied with a smile.

When Duncan arrived home not too much later, Lily and Scott were sitting at the dining table, completely clothes, working studiously with their work strewn around them.

"Hi Lily, how was your day?" Duncan asked. "Nice to see you Scott," Duncan added.

"Great thanks Daddy. Our new routines are coming really well!" Lily said happily.

"And your school work, it's going well?" Duncan asked with amusement.

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine too," Lily said dismissively.

Evelyn then walked into the room, arriving home from work. She gave Duncan a quick kiss then said, "Hi Lily, Scott. Are you staying for dinner, Scott?"

"No thanks Mrs Kane," Scott replied politely. "Mom's expecting me home, in fact, I should probably head off. Nice to see you both."

Scott pecked Lily on the lips, collected his things and left. Lily collected her things and went upstairs to work on her homework while Eva started on dinner.

Lily sat down at her desk and sighed as she started to compose an essay. Her room was a nice place for her to sit while she worked. Her desk was a the window which looked out to the ocean. Her double bed was in the middle of the room, with a bedside table on the right side, the side she preferred to sleep on. The walls were cream, with the exception of the dusky rose feature wall. There were several photos and paintings hung on the wall, dainty and elegant editions. The room suited Lily and her personality very well. Off to the side she had a walk-in closet and an en suite. A walk-in was basically a necessity for Lily. Duncan had raised her to believe that money was not everything, and it especially was not the key to happiness. In saying that, Lily wanted for little, and had all the comforts of life that money could buy, she was just taught to appreciate them. In particular, she was in possession of a very extensive clothes and shoe collection. Like her aunt before her, Lily loved to shop. She made Veronica come with her from time to time. For Veronica it was almost like having her best friend back, to drag her around to try on things, only now, Veronica's budget matched Lily's. Wealthy though Veronica was now, she didn't like to buy copious quantities of designer clothing. Logan and Lily often gifted her with such items, which generally solved Veronica's frugality complex.

Lily had been working studiously for a little while when Duncan called her down for dinner. Several streets over Mac had just finished making dinner for her family.

"Dick! Dinner's ready! Can you please bring Caroline, and come down now," Mac shouted.

"Coming Mackie!" Dick shouted back. He gathered Caroline in his arms and said, "Come on Care, Mommy's got dinner for us."

She smiled toothily at him and said, "Din!"

Dick inspected his daughter's appearance as they descended the stairs. He looked conspiratorially at her and whispered, "So, do you think Mommy will notice the bits of marker on your dress and face?"

Caroline just smiled serenely and Dick nodded in agreement and remarked, "Yeah, I don't think she'll notice."

Dick strapped Caroline into her chair and sat down at the table. Mac entered the room carrying the last plate of food and sat down too. Mac was now sporting a small baby bump, being between three and four months pregnant.

Mac looked at her daughter, smiled at her and said, "What have you been up to Caroline?"

"Dada!" Caroline cried.

"That sounds like fun sweetheart," Mac told Caroline.

She turned to Dick, her face a complete opposite to what Caroline had just seen. "Richard Casablancas Jr! What did you let her get into?" Mac asked sternly.

"We were just colouring Mac," Dick replied soothingly.

"You don't let a fifteen-month old colour, especially with markers!" Mac admonished. "Where did she get them from anyway?"

Dick looked sheepish, and Mac sighed in wry amusement. "You bought them, of course. Dick, you have to buy her age appropriate things. It's lovely that you want to play with her, but stick to building blocks, or those electronic toys that make far too much noise."

Dick grinned at Mac, and the two of them set about eating their own meals, and helping Caroline to eat hers. Naturally some portion of it ended up on the floor.

_They can't wait to hang out and be cool_

"So, Jim asked me if I wanted to go to the party with him after the game on Friday," Mia said at lunch on Wednesday. She looked carefully at Melanie and said, "Is that alright with you?"

"Oh please, don't worry about it," Melanie replied airily. "It's not like we were boyfriend and girlfriend. We didn't even date, we just kind of hooked up a few times over the summer. Go for it."

"Really?" Mia asked hopefully.

"Sure, go for it. Besides, I've got my eye on someone else," Melanie said with a giggle.

"You do realise," Lily broke in, "that these are the same guys that we've been at school with for the last three years. And most of you were even in grade school with most of them," Lily finished laughing.

"Yeah," Keira agreed. "But new people have come, and the guys change, and we've changed, and I think it's just something to do with the whole hormone thing."

"Yep, all true," Sophie agreed dismissively. "What I want to know it who Melanie has her eye on!"

"Wait, don't we have to talk about the Jim and me thing too?" Mia added.

Lily laughed at them. "Mellie first, then Mia. Yours will take longer Mia," Lily informed her. "So Mellie," Lily continued, "which lovely 09er bachelor do you have your eye on?"

"And don't say Liam!" Keira said, joking.

Melanie stuck her tongue out at Keira saying, "That's not happening again! Well, I guess I kind of like Michael."

"Bingham?" Sophie asked for clarification.

"Yeah," Melanie confirmed. "I mean he's hot, on the football team, we're friends, he flirts with me, **and** he stopped seeing that junior the other week."

"You'll both probably be nominated for the Homecoming Court too," Mia mused.

"I like how you think," Melanie replied, grinning, "but Lily and Scott will probably win. Or Liam and Lily."

"So long as I don't have to dance with Liam again, I'll be just fine," Lily said grimly.

The other four girls looked at her, looked at each other, then laughed uproariously.

"Lily, you're the king and queen!" Sophie hooted.

"You've already been Prom royalty once," Mia added.

"It's bound to happen again, at least once," Melanie remarked.

"Lil, you've got to stop letting him annoy you so much!" Keira advised. "He'll stop trying so hard to get your attention if you act like you don't care, one way or another."

"Fine, fine, you're all right, okay," Lily grumbled. "I know Keira, he just makes me so mad sometimes and I lose my cool!"

"My turn now?" Mia said hopefully, trying to move away from the focus on Liam and Lily.

"Sorry Mia!" Lily replied. "We keep getting sidetracked," she said apologetically. "Your turn. So you and Jim Sanderford. James, James, James, what's the appeal?"

Jim Sanderford, part of the 09er clique, a senior, and a close friend of Scott's, was the son of a retired and well known football player. Jim had inherited his father's skills and was a key player on the Neptune High team.

"He's hot, I'm hot, he asked me out. And there you have it, the appeal!" Mia said laughing. "I don't know, I mean he's rich, so that automatically makes him dateable. And you know me, I don't like to date anyone who's not as hot as me."

"So that's why you don't date much," Sophie said, feigning deep thought, "most people aren't as hot as you!"

"I'm going to take that as some sort of backhand compliment," Mia replied. "I like him, I just do. It's our senior year, I want a boyfriend as much as the next person."

"Of course you do," Lily said reassuringly. "So don't worry about it. We'll all be together Friday night anyway, cheering, then partying. It'll be great!"

That afternoon, after the end of the school day, Lily and Keira were wandering around the mall, both looking for a dress to wear to Friday night's party. Pretty much any 09er occasion called for a new outfit.

"Everyone seems to be pairing off, or trying to, pretty early this year," Keira said musingly.

"I guess it's the senior year thing. People, or girls really I guess, want to look back on their senior year relationship as much as anything. Or at least we do now," Lily replied. "Listening to the tales my Aunt Veronica and Dad have to tell are pretty interesting. Half of them seemed to keep the one girlfriend or boyfriend, everyone just slept around and dated heaps."

"Oh we all tend to do a lot of sleeping around too, except you Queen Lily," Keira responded.

"Hey! It's not like I'm going to sleep around on Scott," Lily retorted. "Besides, I can't help it if I'm a romantic. Daddy always says I'm just the right mix of Aunt Lilly and Mom."

"Seriously, I'm not criticising you," Keira said. "I'm just teasing Lil."

"It's not like I'm holding out on Scott or anything," Lily continued. "I mean, we're pretty physical. It's just, we never seem to have found the right moment. We don't ever really talk about it, I guess he just assumes I'll tell him."

"Yeah, you're bossy like that," Keira said cheekily.

Lily swatted at Keira and said, "I'm only bossy because he lets me be!"

"Ain't that the truth. He is so whipped," Keira replied.

"You know, back to the others, if Mia and Jim get together, and Mellie and Michael, that only leaves Sophie single, out of us," Lily remarked.

"True, and there are really only a couple of other 09er guys she could date," Keira added. "Liam is the most desirable one, but I don't see that happening."

"As much as I want Liam to stop annoying me, I wouldn't wish him, hot or not, on Soph," Lily said emphatically.

"So you think he's hot?" Keira questioned, a sly grin on her face.

"Yes, fine! He's hot! We all know it, I'm not blind, so he's hot. Now can we drop it?" Lily ranted.

Keira laughed. "Yep, we can drop it. Now what do you think of this dress?"

"I think Scott would like me in that dress," Lily said, practically cooing at the dress.

"I think he'd like you better out of it," Keira retorted.

"True," Lily allowed.

_We know you can dance to the beat, we got the beat_

Lily was pacing up and down, shouting instructions and commands at her cheerleaders. It was Thursday afternoon, and their practice had run longer than intended. The girls were getting tired, and losing focus, but Lily was determined to continue.

"Come on girls! We've got our first game of the season to cheer at tomorrow! We need to be better!" Lily yelled at them. She wasn't yelling harshly, but her voice was raised all the same.

"Lily, we're tired, and we've been out here for ages," Mia whined.

"Just twenty more minutes Mia, and I think we'll have got it," Lily told her, and the rest of the team.

"Lily, can't we please just break for a quick drink?" Chloe, a junior, asked imploringly.

Lily looked at their red faces and tired looking stances and took pity on them. "Five minutes break! But after that I don't want to hear anything but cheers until we're perfect!"

The water break seemed to be a good choice because the girls returned to practice their routines with renewed zeal, their moves were tighter, their tricks stuck, and their smiles were perkier, if that was really possible.

"Great work everybody!" Lily called out. "I know you're tired, but it will all pay off tomorrow! You can all go now, and don't forget your uniforms tomorrow!"

That evening Lily was sitting at home on the lounge, watching TV with her dad and Evelyn, when a knock sounded on the door.

"I'll get it," Lily said, jumping up and padding to the door in her slippers and pyjamas.

"Uncle Logan!" Lily cried, upon opening the door to reveal Logan.

Logan stepped inside, hugged Lily and the two of them walked into the living room.

"Logan, what's up?" Duncan greeted Logan.

"Hey DK, Eva," Logan returned. "Ronnie sent me around, I told her we could call, but she said I was being lazy and to drive 3 minutes over here," Logan said chuckling. "I think she really just wanted me out of the house. Aubrey's given her a hard time today, so she's pretty pissy."

"Is Aubrey alright?" Lily asked, concerned.

"Yeah, she's just fine, nothing to be alarmed about," Logan reassured Lily. "Anyhow, Ronnie wanted to let you know that we're going to come to watch you cheer tomorrow night Lily. You should feel proud Lily-love, Ronnie use to avoid anything to do with school spirit!"

"Not true. Pep Squad," Duncan said succinctly.

"Oh that wasn't the real Veronica," Logan said blithely. "Anyway, I think Wallace and Amanda are coming to watch too. Wallace still can't resist a Neptune High sporting event. Grandpa Mars and Grandma Alicia are on babysitting duty. Feel loved Lily, Veronica and I have hardly had a night off since Aubrey was born, and we're coming to watch you!"

Lily laughed, "I always feel loved Uncle Logan! But thank Aunt Ronica for me, and I can't wait to see you both after the game tomorrow! I've got to run up and finish my homework now though."

She kissed Logan on the cheek, and he stayed where he was to sit and talk with Duncan and Evelyn a little more.

Friday's game came, with the cheerleaders dressed in their green and yellow colours of Neptune High. Lily's hair was pulled into a high ponytail and she looked every bit of the cheerleader she was. The girls routines were pulled off cleanly, the crowd was a full one and the game was a tight one. Neptune won narrowly, but won all the same. Everyone was in high spirits and ran around congratulating one another enthusiastically.

Lily bounced over to where her dad was standing with Wallace and Amanda, and Veronica and Logan. Evelyn was working late at the station so she was absent. Lily hugged Veronica who said to her, "You were great Lily. You're going to have to be the one to instil school pride in Aubrey, Logan and I are kind of lacking in that area."

Lily laughed and quickly greeted all the others. She didn't stick around long and left them saying, "I've got to run. There's the after party at Sophie's! Yes Daddy, no drink driving. I won't be home obscenely late, I'll behave, you know I do! Bye!"

With that Lily ran off to collect her things. She and the girls were all getting ready at Melanie's quickly before the party. Sophie of course was at her house, finalising things and awaiting the onslaught of partying teenagers.

Lily and her friends arrived at Sophie's. Scott had arrived at the same time and he picked Lily up, swinging her around, both in an exuberant mood thanks to their win and the party.

Lily and Scott stepped inside, the music was pumping and the house was fairly full already, Lily liked to make an entrance. Most people stopped to take in her arrival with Scott. Lily lifted both hands in the air and yelled, "Go Pirates!"

Everyone cheered and Lily grabbed Scott's hand, grabbed a drink, and began to dance with him. Lily was in her prime, dancing with her boyfriend, wearing a new pair of heels, Neptune had won, she had a drink in her hand and it was the weekend. Scott spun her around and her hair flew. She laughed her infectious laugh and her whole face lit up.

Across the room Liam was standing, surrounded by juniors and sophomores, all trying to get his attention, using the devices of batting their eyes, lots of cleavage and short skirts. Their efforts were fruitless though as Liam was watching Lily dance with Scott. He watched the way her hips moved to the beat, then shook himself in frustration. It was pointless. He turned and smiled at a blonde junior, took her hand, and led her off to dance.

**AN: I feel a bit happier about this chapter compared to the last one :) Also, I'll let you in on a little secret, writers love reviews, that includes me! So if you wouldn't mind, just drop me some feedback in the little box below. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4 Dream

**AN: Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, favourited or alerted. I really appreciate it, particularly the reviews!**

Chapter 4 – Dream

_Do you know, it's good to feel too much?_

Lily was sitting on her bed, photos from her dad's wedding lying around her. She'd had a pile printed because she thought she might make a collage for Duncan and Eva to hang in their room. There were a few other pictures of Duncan and Lily had made their way into Lily's pile, ones that helped to show who they were. Lily hadn't reached the collage point though, instead she was looking fondly at a picture of herself, with Duncan and Eva on their wedding day.

**Flashback**

Evelyn had chosen two of her friends from home, and Lily to be her bridesmaids. Lily was dressed in soft yellow chiffon, her hair in a sleek French twist. Evelyn was standing next to Lily, looking nervous. The other two bridesmaids were finishing getting dressed in another room.

"Eva," Lily said, "why do you look so worried?"

"What will people think Lily?" Eva asked anxiously. "I mean I've barely known Duncan for a year. People will think I'm just after his money, or even pregnant!"

"Evelyn!" Lily cried, laughing. "Calm down. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. I know you love Daddy, and he loves you. You're not after his money, and I know you're not pregnant, and it wouldn't matter anyway. Well, Celeste might care, but we try to ignore her fits of temper, mainly."

"Thank you Lily, I wasn't nervous about marrying your father, I really want to marry him. I was just nervous about what everyone else will think, but you're right, it doesn't matter," Evelyn concluded. "It does matter what you think though, Lily. You're sure you're fine with it?"

"Eva, don't be silly! Of course I want you to marry Daddy. You make him happy, and I've seen you together more than most people have. It was like one of those fairytale romances," Lily said with a dreamy sigh.

"Thank you Lily," Eva said with a smile.

"Now, let's go get you married!" Lily exclaimed.

The wedding had gone off smoothly, and the evening found Scott and Lily dancing together at the reception.

"You look beautiful, you know," Scott informed his girlfriend.

Lily blushed, she knew she looked beautiful, but it was another thing to hear it from her boyfriend. "Thanks Scott. It's been a good day, hasn't it?"

"Sure it has, especially because I get to dance with you now," Scott told her.

"I love you," Lily told him seriously.

"And I love you," Scott returned. "I was thinking, for our anniversary–"

"Our anniversary?" Lily interjected.

"Our six month anniversary Lily," Scott explained. "It's in a few weeks, so I thought we'd do something nice."

"You're so sweet sometimes," Lily said affectionately. "So, what are we calling our anniversary?"

"The 21st?" Scott said questioningly.

"So, our first date. I agree," Lily said, smiling at him.

"Well, what do you want to do for it?" Scott asked.

"Surprise me!" Lily said with a light laugh. "Now, come on, I want another glass of champagne."

**End flashback**

Lily collected the photos from her bed and stored them in a desk drawer. It was Sunday afternoon, Lily had spent the weekend catching up on sleep following Friday night, doing homework and relaxing at home and at the Echolls'.

Lily wandered into her walk-in, looking through her clothes, trying to decide what to wear to school tomorrow. The cheerleaders were allowed to wear their uniforms whenever they chose at school, but Lily, and her friends, preferred to wear normal clothes most of the time.

Lily gently fingered the fabric of her Alexander McQueen dress, remembering the excitement of attending the Golden Globes with Logan. It had been so funny watching Logan chase off any guy that looked too long at Lily, or who offered her a drink. Lily hadn't been dating Scott at the time, but she was interested in him, so the attentions of Hollywood men hadn't held much meaning for her, though she had greatly enjoyed the flattery in their interest.

Lily walked out of her closet, her heart not really focused on finding clothes to wear for the coming school day. Instead, she slipped into a pair of shoes, grabbed a jacket and her purse and walked downstairs. She grabbed her keys and called to Duncan, "Dad, I'm just heading out! I won't be too long, I have my phone!"

"Lily, wait!" Duncan called, but Lily was already gone. He sighed in frustration, sometimes it was hard having an independent teenage daughter.

Lily jumped into her BMW and drove through the streets of Neptune until she reached her destination. She parked her car and started walking across the grass. The sun was getting lower in the sky, a slight breeze ruffled the leaves of the trees and Lily pulled her jacket a little more closely around herself.

She dropped to the ground, setting her keys beside her and said, "Hi Mom. I know I normally bring flowers, but this was kind of an impromptu visit. I suddenly just really wanted to see you and rushed out of the house. I somehow don't think Dad will be too happy with me when I get back. I know, I should try not to worry him, but sometimes I just need to get away. I was in my closet, looking through my things, dresses I've worn to special events, my cheerleading uniform, favourite pairs of shoes, and I just wished you were here. We cheered at our first game of the season, and I'm captain this year. Dad and Aunt Veronica and Uncle Logan came to watch, and I loved having them their, but sometimes I just wish you were here too. I never knew you, but they've all told me so much about you that I can almost imagine what you'd say if they you were there."

Lily stopped talking for a minute, trying to compose herself. She fiddled with the L pendant on her necklace and kept talking. "I love Aunt Veronica, she's just like having a big sister, a best friend and almost a mom wrapped up into one, but sometimes I just wish I could talk to you. Tell you about Scott, talk to you about those girly things you're supposed to share with your mom. You'll never see me get married, you'll never hold your grandchildren, not that I'm planning on having any for a while. Lianne, Aunt Veronica's mom died this summer. She only got to know Veronica's baby for a few weeks. Granddad has been so sad since Lianne died. He's not working as much anymore, Daddy's been taking over more of the running of Kane Industry. It's not too bad, he hasn't really increased his hours at the office, so that's good."

Lily paused again, contemplating her next words. "I know I told you Daddy was getting married, and that I like Eva. I really do, but she's not my mom, or even my stepmom. I'm never going to forget about you, even though I never met you. I love you Mommy," Lily finished softly.

_Oh, you've got my head in the clouds_

"Lily, you just can't run out without telling me where you're going!" Duncan told her.

"I didn't mean to Dad, I just needed some space," Lily explained.

"I know I give you a lot of freedom, and that I've raised you to be responsible, but it doesn't mean that I don't worry about you Lily," Duncan continued.

"I'm sorry Daddy," Lily said sadly. "I went to see Mom, that's all. I just wanted to see her badly, all of a sudden, and tell her about my week. I didn't think that you'd be worried."

Duncan put his arms around his daughter and she hugged him back.

"Just tell me next time, okay?" Duncan said, patting her hair.

"Yes Daddy," Lily answered. "Can we please have Thai for dinner?"

Duncan laughed and nodded indulgently.

Lily went into the kitchen, grabbed the menu from the drawer, and went to find Eva to discuss what to order.

Monday morning found Lily waiting around for the first bell to ring. She was standing with Scott and Keira and Ethan. They were discussing Homecoming, the Homecoming Court was to be nominated that that morning in homeroom. Mia and Jim came walking down the hall towards them, holding hands. Keira and Lily smiled at each other, exchanging a glace that communicating their happiness for Mia.

The end of homeroom found Lily, Keira and Mia nominated for Homecoming Queen, and Scott, Liam and Michael Bingham nominated for King.

"Voting will take place on Friday morning in homeroom, the Friday of the Homecoming game. The King and Queen will be announced at the dance on Saturday," Principal Clemmons' voice announced over the school speakers. Clemmons was still the principal of Neptune High, even after many years.

Lily sat down next to Sophie in Chemistry who said, "So, which one of you are we supposed to vote for?"

"Whoever you want," Lily replied. "Are you okay with not being nominated?"

"Yeah, it's fine. There are heaps of people who could have been, I'll still be cheering at the game, and going to the dance. Well, I actually haven't been asked to the dance yet," Sophie stated.

"Me neither," Lily said laughing.

"Yeah, but you know you'll go with Scott," Sophie returned.

"There are a couple of guys you could go with," Lily told her. "Don't worry, you're hot, and there's a couple of weeks left before the dance."

"Yeah, well, you'd better be right," Sophie said ominously.

"Please, I'm Lily Kane!" Lily replied.

"Lily Kane," Scott said to her, as they were at her locker between classes later that day, "will you go to Homecoming with me?"

"Probably," Lily replied. "I might be busy that day though." Lily closed her locker and walked off. Scott trotted after her, caught her by the waist and spun her around and pulled her up against him.

Her eyes were dancing merrily and she giggled.

"You think you're cute, don't you?" Scott said smiling at her.

"Well I am, aren't I?" Lily returned.

"You are. So, you'll go with me, won't you?" Scott pressed.

"Of course I will, you big idiot! I'll even dance with you once we're crowned King and Queen!" Lily told him.

That afternoon after cheerleading practice Lily and her friends ended up at the mall looking for Homecoming dresses.

"So you all have dates?" Sophie asked.

"Yeah," Lily, Keira, Mia and Melanie all said slowly together.

"But don't worry," Mia told her, "we'll find you a date."

"I really don't want to have to go with a junior," Sophie grumbled.

"You won't," Melanie reassured her.

"I'll have Ethan work something out," Keira said confidently.

"I want to have a boy ask me because he wants to, not because one of you sicced your boyfriend on him," Sophie said sadly.

"Soph, you're totally capable of getting a date to the dance. All the guys probably think you've already been asked, so they haven't asked you," Lily stated. "I'll just have a chat with Scott, find out what his friends plans are. Don't worry. For now, we're just going to shop!"

Wednesday arrived, and the afternoon found Scott and Lily making out in her bed. Lily pulled back from Scott, panting, and said, "Hey, bad timing, but I just remembered I have to ask you something."

Scott ran a hand through his hair and chuckled, "Okay. Ask away."

"So, for Homecoming, have you made plans with any of your friends? Like sharing a limo with anyone and their dates? Do all your friends have dates?" Lily asked.

"Why?" Scott asked, clearly confused.

"I like to know everything," Lily said.

"Well, you know Ethan and Jim are taking their girlfriends, and I think Melanie managed to get Michael to take her. I don't really care what Liam is doing, and I think either Josh or Chris was going with Sophie," Scott told Lily.

"Ah," Lily said thoughtfully.

"What are you up to?" Scott asked warily.

"What makes you say that?" Lily asked innocently.

"Oh, just take scheming look on your face," Scott replied.

"Well, the thing is, neither Josh or Chris has asked Sophie, no one has, so I figured they all thought she had a date," Lily explained.

"Right, so now you want me to plant the idea in one of their heads," Scott said understandingly.

"Yep!" Lily replied, pleased. "I mean, I could do it for you, if you want."

"Oh no, I'll take care of it!" Scott said quickly. "So which poor guy and I springing this on?"

Lily socked him lightly in the arm, "Hey! Don't be mean. Sophie's my friend, and she's great. So, I think Chris for Sophie."

Chris Tatlock, just another 09er guy, football player, wealthy, blond and tanned.

"Okay, now that we've got this sorted. Can we go back to making out?" Scott asked hopefully.

Lily just grabbed him and kissed him.

_Every time you look at me, it's like the best day_

Lily was at the Echolls' on Thursday night, along with her dad and Eva, the Fennels and the Casablancas'. They had decided to have dinner altogether once a week every fortnight, Thursday being chosen because of Lily's school and social commitments. The adults all had flexible schedules, so they were happy to accommodate Lily.

Lily was on the lounge, with Justin sitting on her lap and Logan and Dick were holding their daughters. Duncan and Wallace were also sitting on lounges. Mac, Eva, Veronica and Amanda were in the kitchen together.

"So, DK, any news on the baby front for you guys?" Logan asked Duncan.

Duncan started coughing and spluttering, choking on his beer.

"Dude, you guys are planning on having a baby?" Dick questioned enthusiastically.

"That's great man!" Wallace chimed in.

"Really Daddy?" Lily asked curiously.

"No, no, no," Duncan managed to say. "We haven't been planning on having a baby right now. I mean, of course I want to, but we just haven't discussed it."

Logan was chuckling at how flustered Duncan had become as a result of his question.

"Dude, you should have more kids! It's great," Dick said happily. "Then all our kids can be friends," Dick suggested delightedly.

"Of course they'll all be friends," Logan said.

Lily chuckled to herself, listening to the grown men sort out their children's futures.

"Well, you all have fun, finalising the futures of your children, including the unborn ones, but I'm off to the kitchen," Lily announced. "Come on Justin, let's go!"

In the kitchen Mac was finishing telling the story of Dick, Caroline and the coloured markers.

"She had marker all over her face, her dress, her lips were a lovely shade of purple," Mac said chortling. "I was so mad, but I didn't have the heart to be for long. They were both so pleased with themselves."

"Just wait until baby two comes," Amanda said. "You'll have three kids to look after."

"Logan sits with Aubrey most days, and tells her about the evils of boys, and how to tell if they're lying, and how to tell if they really love her," Veronica said in amusement. "He's also told her that of course she can't use any of these tips until she's at least thirty."

"I think he and Dick get together and teach a seminar along those lines to the girls," Mac said seriously.

"They do," Lily remarked. "I've heard it. I didn't have the heart to tell them that it was a pointless activity, they just seemed to self-satisfied."

"Hey Justin, come to Momma," Amanda said, reaching for her son. "At least all your daddy does is explain all the rules of basketball to you weekly."

Just then Eva's phone went off. "Sorry, I just have to take this," she told everyone, and left the room quickly.

Eva reappeared shortly and said, "That was the Sheriff, I need to go into work. I'm so sorry. I'll see you at home Lily." With that she kissed Lily on the cheek, and went to find Duncan on her way out.

"So Lil, are you partying again this Friday night?" Veronica asked.

"Nah, I like to have the occasional Friday off," Lily answered. "We don't party every weekend you know, we have lives outside of partying. Football, cheering, dates, the occasional bit of school work."

"We know, we remember that far back, just barely though," Veronica said jokingly.

"I know, I know," Lily replied good-naturedly. "So, can I help with dinner?"

"We're just ready to serve now," Mac answered. "How about you go and round up the people from the living room?"

Dinner went off smoothly, as did school the next day. Neptune High had an away match, and they returned victorious. Scott and Lily went out with Keira and Ethan after the game and grabbed something to eat. Following that Scott drove Lily home. They parked a little way down the street and sat making out for a little while.

"I should get home," Lily said eventually.

"You're probably right," Scott said sighing. "Lil, I know we haven't talked about this, but are we going to, you know…"

"Hey," Lily said gently. "I really want to, I've just wanted the time to be right. I'm almost ready. I love you, you know, and thank you for being so patient with me."

"I love you too, and I really don't want to pressure you. If you want to keep waiting, we'll wait. I just wanted to know, I guess," Scott replied.

"I'll be ready soon, really. Anyway, now that we've covered that elephant in the room, you ready for Homecoming?" Lily asked.

"Do you mean have I ordered a corsage?" Scott asked.

"No, I actually meant the game!" Lily said laughing.

"Oh, right. I think we're going to win, especially with you cheering for us," Scott replied.

"Oh you sweet talker, you guys are looking pretty good. Wait, you do have a corsage for me, right?" Lily asked, in mock concern.

"You'll see, and I will see you later. Night beautiful," Scott said in farewell.

Lily kissed him goodbye, grabbed her things and let herself into her house, smiling deliriously.

**AN: Hi, me again, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter, so drop me a review if you wouldn't mind. Please :)**


	5. Chapter 5 Teenage Dream

Chapter 5 – Teenage dream

_You think I'm pretty, without any make-up on_

On Monday after cheerleading practise, Lily arrived at the Echolls', homework and Homecoming dress in hand. She let herself inside and found Veronica sitting in the lounge room, typing busily on her laptop.

"Hey Aunt Veronica," Lily greeted her.

"Lily, I'd almost forgotten you were coming over," Veronica said. "How was your day?"

"Nothing too special, grumpy teachers, cheer practise was pretty average. Actually, there was something pretty good," Lily said excitedly. "It didn't actually happen to me, but to Sophie. No one had asked her to Homecoming, and she was all sad, so I made Scott find out which of the guys didn't have dates yet, so then Scott gently prompted Chris to ask Soph to the dance," Lily explained. "So, he left it until today, the dance is Saturday, but he did it so cutely. He spent more time talking to her last week before he asked her, because he didn't want her to think it was a pity date. So then today he had flowers delivered, asking her. It was so cute! I didn't know high school boys could be sweet like that."

"Match-making and good deeds, your mother and aunt would be proud," Veronica told Lily, grinning. "But seriously, I am proud of you, it's nice for you to look out for your friend like that. Isn't Scott sweet to you?" Veronica asked.

"Oh of course he is," Lily replied. "I guess it's just different when you're watching it happen to a friend. Anyway, I come with homework and my Homecoming dress. So we can work first and play later, or…"

"No, let's play first! Aubrey's asleep and Logan's at work, so go put your dress on!" Veronica said, in a fit of girlish irresponsibility.

Lily trotted off with her garment bag, into the room that had been hers for those few weeks in the summer and slipped into her dress, pinning her hair up in a make-shift up do.

Lily appeared wearing an Oscar de la Renta dress, it to the floor and was made of mid-green chiffon. It was light and floaty, with a deep neckline, it didn't reveal too much cleavage however. There was a belt at the waist, in a light shade of green, cinching the loose, floating material and shape of the dress. It was simple and elegant, and Lily pulled it off effortlessly.

"What do you think?" Lily asked.

"I love it," Veronica answered, "but wear your hair down, I think. You'll look too sophisticated with it up. The dress is a great choice for Homecoming. You'll make a perfect Queen."

"The girls were undecided on how to wear my hair, so I'm so glad you said that!" Lily replied. "I wasn't sure if I should wear something shorter, but if you're sure–"

"I'm sure," Veronica broke in. "You're nominated for Queen, you're the head cheerleader, and you're Lily Kane, floor length is the way to go."

"Perfect. I'm all set then," Lily said, then lifted the hemline of her dress and stuck out a foot. On her foot was a patent leather nude high heel. "I bought these to go with it, they're Yves Saint Laurent, they were just so classic and beautiful, I had to have them," Lily chattered.

"Sounds lovely darling. Now, I have to be responsible Aunt Veronica, so we should both do some work now," Veronica stated.

Lily trailed off to change and returned and sat doing her homework for a time. Veronica sat opposite her doing some case work, she had taken on a few cases that could be done from home.

"Aunt Ronica," Lily said slowly, a while later.

"Yeah?" Veronica replied.

"I wanted to talk to you about something, but I don't want you to talk to anyone else about it. I'm not in trouble or doing anything dangerous, it's just private," Lily explained.

"Sure. I won't say anything to anyone else. I want you to come to me, and to be able to trust me, you deserve that," Veronica told her.

"Okay, well, you remember how you asked me, early in the summer, if there was anything I wanted to talk about, you know, about sex," Lily said, finally reaching her point.

"Ah," Veronica said, understanding now what Lily wanted to talk about. "Yeah, go on."

"Well, Scott and I haven't slept together yet," Lily said slowly. "I've never been with anyone else either, and I want him to be my first. I've been on the pill for a while now, it's just easier to be, you know. So, I guess what I'm trying to get to is, I think I'm ready, no, I know I'm ready, and we've talked about it a little bit recently. I don't want Dad knowing, or anyone really except maybe Keira. It's not because I think I'm doing anything wrong, but because it's private, intimate, no one else needs to know, or should know. Does that make sense?"

"Of course Lily," Veronica replied. "It should be your choice, and if you love him, and he loves you, that's all that should matter. I didn't tell my dad either. They tend to have an idea though I think, I don't know how, but don't engage in conversation about it. Duncan's my friend, but as a father, it's much better for him to remain in the dark, or even in denial. Is there anything else you want to ask?"

"I don't really think so. We've kind of covered the other stuff at sleepovers," Lily explained. "We're teenage girls, and I think it's better than you and I talking about it!"

"I completely agree," Veronica returned, laughing a little, breaking the slight tension.

"Okay, so I don't suppose there are any snickerdoodles around?" Lily asked hopefully.

Tuesday morning Lily squealed into the parking lot at Neptune High, parked her BMW hurriedly and rushed inside to her locker. The bell had just rung and people were moving off to homeroom. Naturally people parted to let her through, and they immediately noticed Lily's appearance. Usually the 09er queen was dressed stylishly, her hair and make-up flawless, but today she looked almost dishevelled in comparison. Lily Kane could never be ugly, but her look was certainly lacking polish.

Scott was waiting for her at her locked. "Where have you been?" he asked her in concern.

"I slept through my alarm, had trouble getting going even after that, then my car wouldn't start for some strange reason!" Lily exclaimed, her tone conveying quite a bit of stress.

"Hey, calm down, it's alright," Scott said soothingly. "Why didn't you just come late with an excuse or something?"

"I have an important test up first!" Lily cried. "Remember? Besides, I don't want to get by on the Kane name when it comes to school, I want to do well properly."

"Of course, I'm sorry," Scott replied.

"I've got to run!" Lily told him.

"Wait!" Scott called, grabbed at her arm. He pulled her into a soothing hug, kissing the top of her head.

"I love you, you'll be fine. You're still the most beautiful girl here," he told her."

"Thank you, I love you so much," Lily replied, somewhat calmer. "I've really got to go now though," she said, and raced off.

_Let's go all the way tonight, no regrets, just love_

"Great job girls! I think we're ready for the Homecoming game," Lily called out.

It was the Wednesday before Homecoming, and the afternoon practise session was coming to a close. The cheerleaders broke their formation and stood around looking exhausted.

"I'll see you all tomorrow," Lily continued.

Lily grabbed her things and moved off quickly toward the parking lot. She headed home briefly to shower and change and then drove over to Scott's.

"Hey beautiful," Scott said, opening the door to let her in.

"Hey you," Lily replied, kissing him.

"So homework, then making out, or making out and then homework?" Scott asked Lily once they'd moved into his living room.

"I thought we'd skip the homework today," Lily told him seductively.

"Really?" Scott said with interest.

"Uh huh," Lily said, placing several kisses to his lips.

She pushed him backwards onto the lounge and climbed onto his lap, kissing him heatedly. Scott threaded one hand through her hair and pulled her closer to him.

He paused for a minute, pulled back slightly and said, "Not that I don't love this, but what's got in to you?"

"Well," Lily said, almost shyly, "remember what we talked about the other night? I'm ready," she said smiling at him.

"You're sure?" Scott asked her seriously.

Lily just kissed him in reply. Scott kissed her back. Soon Scott removed Lily's shirt, revealing a black lace bra.

"I like this," Scott told her intensely.

"I thought you might," Lily said with a giggle.

Lily then took Scott's shirt off, and began to trace the lines of his abs and said flirtatiously, "I like these."

Scott then flipped them over, pinning her underneath him on the lounge, continuing to kiss enthusiastically.

Sometime Lily's skirt had joined her shirt on the floor, revealing matching lace panties. Scott was only in his boxers, their lips were swollen, their eyes filled with passion.

"Did you hear that?" Lily said suddenly, breaking away from Scott.

"Shit, I think that's my mom's car," Scott answered, panic starting to set in.

"Shit, shit, shit," Lily muttered, grabbing her skirt and shirt, dressing herself as fast as humanly possible.

Scott had also grabbed his pants and shirt and pulled them on quickly.

"What do we do?" Lily whispered hurriedly. "We've clearly been making out, at the very least!"

"Okay, okay," Scott said, thinking quickly. "Let's run up to my room, we'll stick some movie on, and we should have time to compose ourselves."

Scott grabbed Lily by the hand and they flew up the stairs as quietly as possible. They reached his room, Scott picked up a movie, put it on somewhere in the middle, while Lily messed the bed up slightly, just enough to make it look like they'd been lying on it.

They heard the front door open and Scott's mom come in.

She called out, "Scott, I'm home! Is Lily's here?"

"We're just up here watching a movie," Scott called back. "Be down to see you in a moment."

Scott ran a brush through his hair, while Lily fixed her own hair and applied some lip gloss.

They checked themselves in the mirror.

"I think we're alright now," Scott eventually stated quietly.

"Okay, if you're sure," Lily replied.

"Show time," Scott said, taking her hand, and they made their way sedately downstairs.

"Hi Mom," Scott said, once they found her in the kitchen, drinking a glass of water.

"Hi, honey, how was your day?" she asked him.

"Yeah good, good," Scott replied, trying his hardest to be casual.

"Nice to see you Mrs Hunter," Lily greeted her.

"You too Lily," she returned. "Do you two need anything?"

"Nope, we're good thanks Mom," Scott answered. "We're just going to finish watching our movie."

Scott and Lily went back upstairs and flopped down on his bed.

"Well that was almost a disaster," Lily said, giggling.

Scott started laughing too, and they kept laughing, finally releasing all the tension from the last fifteen minutes.

Scott pulled Lily close to him in a hug and kissed her forehead.

"I love you my Lily," he said quietly in her ear.

"I love you too," Lily replied. "I'm sorry this afternoon didn't work out."

"Don't worry about it," Scott reassured her. "It will happen when it happens."

"Yeah, but it'll be soon," Lily promised.

Scott just kissed her tenderly and entwined their hands. They stayed curled up on the bed together, not really watching the movie, just happy to be with each other.

Lily left and went home not too much later. Once she got home and went up to her room she sat down on her bed and started to laugh, choking on a little sob at the same time.

"Well, that was interesting," Lily said quietly to her empty room.

_You make me, feel like I'm living a teenage dream, the way you turn me on_

Lily was sitting with her friends at lunch, there were a combination of 09er guys and girls crowded around two lunch tables. They were all in good spirits, Homecoming week had that effect on them. The football team was in good form, love was seemingly in the air, she sun was shining, it was a beautiful fall day in Neptune.

"So, I went and put money on the winners for King and Queen," Ethan announced. Keira looked at him expectantly. "Yes Keira, I put money on you! I haven't quite decided, but I'm even leaning towards voting for you."

"You're such a sweetie," Keira said, with a fake sigh of happiness. "You know what? I'm leaning towards not dumping you," she added, in a sugary sweet tone.

Everyone laughed, and the actually happy couple kissed each other affectionately.

"Did you find out the odds?" Jim asked.

"I did actually, the bookie was very helpful, I think he just wanted my money," Ethan answered astutely. "Lily is leading the race for Queen, with Keira and Mia on equal odds behind her. Scott and Liam have equal odds, with Michael trailing them quite substantially," Ethan finished. "Sorry man," he added as an afterthought to Michael.

"Somebody mention me?" Liam said, sauntering up to the table with Josh Edgehill.

"Yeah dude," Jim answered. "We were just talking about Homecoming, what the betting odds are."

"Right, and?" Liam asked.

"You and Scott are even for King," Michael answered.

"And for Queen?" Liam further questioned.

"Lily's out in front," Ethan supplied.

Liam looked with interest at Lily and Scott glared at him.

"May the best man win," Liam said, with underlying meaning. "See you at practice boys," he said, moving off to another table with Chris.

Keira looked meaningfully at Lily, who chose to turn to Melanie to discuss hairstyles for cheering at the Homecoming game.

After lunch Keira and Lily were sitting together in study hall, Lily was working hard at focusing on her homework, mainly because she didn't want to talk to Keira about the little incident at lunch.

Keira poked her with her pen and whispered, "Lily!"

Lily turned and glared at her, nodding in the direction of the supervising teacher.

"We are allowed to talk you know," Keira stated.

"Well, I want to work, and it's quiet in here," Lily retorted.

"Fine, I'll write you a note," Keira said, huffing.

This made Lily giggle, "What are we, in the third grade?"

"Dodging your best friend's questions? Yeah, that constitutes third grade behaviour," Keira replied smartly.

Lily looked caught and sighed resignedly. She went back to her work, waiting for Keira's impending note.

A few minutes later Keira slid a piece of paper onto Lily's desk, Lily picked it up and read it.

"What are you up to Lil? Ignoring me and acting stuffy makes it a big deal. If you just laughed about it, or shrugged it off it wouldn't be anything to think about," Keira had written.

Lily thought hard then scribbled back, "I know, I guess I'm just being stupid. He just gets under my skin and annoys me. Part of me just wants to pretend that he doesn't exist, but that's childish."

Keira scanned the note and quickly penned her reply, "Well, okay. That makes sense. You're not interested in him are you?"

Lily read the note in horror. She didn't bother to reply and said to Keira in an astonished and aghast whisper, "No! God, no. I love Scott, Liam is just like a fly, he buzzes around until he pisses me off and I want to take a swat at him!"

Keira laughed, causing Lily to chuckle as well.

"I'm glad, I didn't think you were," Keira replied. "I still think he's actually interested in you."

"Good for him," Lily retorted. "I just hope for his sake, and mine, he get's over it soon."

"Get over Lily Kane, quickly?" Keira asked in an amused tone.

"It's doable," Lily stated. "Harry got over me, and we're even friends!"

"Yeah, well, Harry's an exception to the rule then," Keira replied.

After the school day ended, both the football team and cheerleading team put in a long and hard practise session as they wanted to be sure to perform well at the Homecoming game the next day.

Following practise the 09ers were congregated in the parking lot, standing around talking, as they often did for a short time following practise. They way people had started to pair off promoted this, as they liked to make plans for the weekend together.

This particular Thursday afternoon Lily was leaning against Scott, who had his arms around her, as they all finalised plans for Homecoming.

"So we're at your house after tomorrow's game," Mia clarified with Jim.

"Yep, my parents have some dinner or something, so we're all good," Jim answered.

"And we're partying at my house after the dance on Saturday," Keira announced.

"And Sunday…" Michael began.

"We're getting some sleep!" Sophie exclaimed.

"We know you love your sleep, Soph," Lily told her, smiling.

"We're heading off now," Scott announced then, to everyone, surprising Lily.

"See you, everyone," Lily said. Scott took her hand, saluted his friends, and walked off with Lily.

"So, what are we doing?" Lily asked him, puzzled.

"We're driving to your house, leaving our cars there, then we're going to take a walk on the beach," Scott revealed.

"It sounds lovely, but I have homework I really should do," Lily replied.

"Lil, it's just a little walk on the beach. You look tired, let's just do something relaxing together," Scott suggested.

A small smile played at her lips and she nodded. "Let's go!"

Not too long later they were walking down the beach, hand-in-hand, watching the sun sink gradually lower in the sky. Lily's long hair was pulled back in a braid, so the fall wind didn't bother her. They sat down in the sand together, Lily sitting in between Scott's legs, his arms around her neck, as she leaned back into him.

Lily arched her neck around to smile at him, then kissed him, and said seriously, "I love you, so much."

"I love you, always," Scott returned.

They stayed there, Lily blissfully happy in Scott's arms, watching the sun go down over the ocean waves.

**AN: Thanks for reading everyone! Please review (and make my day!). Up next, Homecoming :)**


	6. Chapter 6 Everything

**AN: I've been looking forward to posting this chapter! Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing :)**

Chapter 6 – Everything

_And how can I stand here with you, and not be moved by you?_

Friday morning arrived, voting for Homecoming King and Queen was done by secret ballot during home room. Lily went about her day as normal, some of her attention focused on her work, some on her friends, and a little more than usual on her routines for the game, owing to the fact it was Homecoming. She wasn't at all perturbed about the outcome of the voting for Queen. She had won so many times that she knew what it felt like to win, so the possibility of losing did not phase her. Besides, she knew there was a high chance she'd win again, and she was okay with that too.

Game time came, the stands were packed, Lily's usual family and adult friend supporters among the crowd. The cheerleaders bounced out onto the field, Lily leading them. Her hair was in a jaunty high ponytail that swung with every move she made. The girls on her squad looked as equally bubbly and polished. The moved to the centre of the field and launched into their first routine, to entertain the crowd before the match began.

When the football team ran out the cheerleaders stood by, shaking their pompoms and performing cheers. Throughout the game they stayed on the sideline, cheering enthusiastically. The game was a close one, and the Neptune High followers were very vocal in their support of their team. In the end, Liam's performance in the role of quarterback was what allowed Neptune to win. The clock ended, and the stands erupted.

Lily and her friends jumped up and down with excitement, the boys out on the field shook hands, hugged and slapped each other in congratulations. They then ran over to the cheerleaders, everyone was grabbing everyone, hugging, people were being spun around in circles. In a moment of exuberance Liam picked Lily up and hugged her. She briefly hugged him back, then looked awkward after he put her down. He moved off to hug another cheerleader and she turned and jumped on Scott, kissing him soundly in congratulation.

"Great game babe!" Lily yelled, having to raise her voice to make herself heard over the uproar.

"Thanks! You were great as well, I particularly liked that little move you did in the middle of your half-time routine!" Scott yelled back at her.

"Oh you mean this?" Lily asked, demonstrating a move where she shook her butt.

"Yes. that one," Scott said, grinning suggestively at her, and giving her butt a light swat.

"Oi! My dad's around here somewhere," Lily exclaimed. "And Uncle Logan, Uncle Dick and Uncle Wallace. Oh, and Aunt Veronica is licensed to carry a gun!"

"Fair point about your dad, and the others, except Mrs Echolls, she likes me," Scott replied. "Your dad likes me too, for all that, but yeah, no butt slapping in front of your father, you bet."

"Come on, let's go find people, like our families, finish up, and get out of here! We've got a party to go to," Lily said excitedly.

Lily grabbed her bag, wandered through the crowd until she found her usual supporters, hugged them all, talked briefly with them. She then drove to Scott's, changed there, and a quick make out session later, arrived at Jim's.

She stepped into the house, the usual signs of a party were present, music, dancing, alcohol. Lily was wearing a red dress, the top half was made of red lace, with three quarter sleeves. Then from her hips down there was a bubble skirt, made from red satin. There was a large bow feature on her right hip. Lily could wear most colours, and she wore red especially well. Scott walked with her, his hand placed protectively on her back. He was use to people, guys, checking out his girlfriend, it was life, but tonight she looked particularly stunning, so he was feeling quite protective.

He and Lily walked around, drinking, talking to subjects, admirers and friends. The boys spent a bit of time reliving the highlights of the game, while the girls moved off to dance together for a while. When a slow song came on to play, Scott wove his way through the crowd to where Lily was and pulled her into his arms to dance. They swayed to and fro, their bodies melded together. Lily looked up at Scott, her eyes full of love and he kissed her tenderly. Dancing their with Scott like that, Lily knew she that she really was ready for their first time. She was in love with him, he was in love with her, and that was more than enough for her.

Lily and Scott danced a few fast songs after that before they moved off to find new drinks. While Scott went in search of the drinks, Lily wandered off to the bathroom to freshen up. She reapplied her lip gloss, fixed her hair a little, smiled into the mirror, then left the bathroom and went back down the hall to rejoin Scott and the party. Just as she reached the end of the hall, Liam entered it, started a little, as did Lily. He stepped aside to let her pass, and said, "You look beautiful tonight Lily."

Lily started to smile at him, but stopped when he continued to say, "Why don't you ditch Scott and have some fun with me."

Lily looked at him in disgust and said, "You know, you should've have just let it at, 'You look beautiful'. Why do you need to ruin it with something inappropriate like that? Try being courteous to me, for once, and we might actually have a chance at being friends."

With that Lily turned on her heel, her very high stiletto heel, and left to return to Scott and the party. Liam stood in the hall, looking pained and pensive.

Lily found Scott, he handed her a drink, and they sat down with Ethan and Keira to talk. Lily regained her good spirits, she didn't dwell on the incident with Liam, she was having far too good a night to let him bother her.

_Would you tell me, how could it be, any better than this?_

The next day Lily woke up late morning and lazed around the house until it was time for her to visit the hairdresser to have her hair done. She and Keira went to their usual salon together, then left to return to their own houses to finish getting ready. Once home Lily did her own make-up, put her dress on and slipped into her heels. She grabbed her clutch and went downstairs to wait for Scott. Scott was coming in the Hunter's limo, then they were collecting Ethan and Keira from her house, and riding to the school together.

Lily stood waiting downstairs, absentmindedly checking her hair in a mirror. Her long, blonde hair was done in 1920s wavy curls. A knock sounded on the door, Duncan let Scott in. Scott slipped a corsage onto Lily's wrist, Eva snapped a few pictures and Lily and Scott left.

They collected Keira and Ethan, and made their way to Neptune High, talking, laughing and drinking champagne in the limo.

At the school the dance was pretty well in full swing. Lily, Scott, Keira and Ethan put their things at their table. The 09er seniors had two tables between them, next to each other. Most people were dancing, including the 09ers. Lily led Scott to the dance floor, with Keira and Ethan not far behind, and they began to dance. Mia and Jim were dancing nearby, as were Melanie and Michael and Sophie and Chris. Liam and his date, a brunette junior. A cheerleader named Olivia, who had a reputation for being easy.

After they had been dancing for a while, the music stopped and Principal Clemmons' voice filled the room.

"It's time for the crowning of Homecoming King and Queen," Principal Clemmons announced. "Would the nominees please come to the stage?"

Lily and Scott, hand-in-hand, walked to the stage, along with Mia, Keira, Michael and Liam. They lined up on the stage as everyone else gathered close up to hear the result.

"Well, the votes have been counted, and this year your Homecoming Queen is Lily Kane!" Principal Clemmons revealed.

Keira and Mia both smiled at Lily, unsurprised. Lily smiled back, then at the rest of the student body, who were cheering. The result wasn't a shock to anyone, and Lily stepped forward to receive her crown graciously. She then stood to the side of Principal Clemmons awaiting the announcement for King.

"And this year's Homecoming King is, Liam Armistead," Clemmons announced.

Liam stepped forward with a cocky smile, there was more clapping and cheering from the crowd. Lily was irritated, she had hoped Scott would get King, not Liam, but she masked her true feelings well with a pleasant smile on her face.

Once Liam had been crowned, Principal Clemmons said, "Now the King and Queen will have their dance."

Lily inwardly cringed, steeling herself for the task. They'd already danced together in such a manner, at the previous year's Prom, and it hadn't been enjoyable for Lily. Lily made her way down from the stage, making sure to keep her distance from Liam until they were back on the dance floor. The other nominees also left the stage, preparing to watch the dance, then to dance themselves.

A large circle was clear on the floor for Liam and Lily. They stood together, then _Iris_ by the Goo Goo Dolls started playing.

Liam held out his hand to Lily, who took it unwillingly. He pulled her to him and they began to dance, Lily keeping a little gap between them. They swayed and moved around, then Liam said quietly in Lily's ear, "You look lovely tonight."

"_You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be_," the songs lyrics drifted through the room.

Lily looked at him, waiting for the other shoe to drop but it didn't. She rewarded him with a small smile, and "Thanks."

They continued to dance in silence until Liam said, "So, last night, you said some things, about why you don't like me. I take it that's why you've always said no when I've asked you out?"

Lily nodded her head.

"Is there anything else? I mean, anything else about my behaviour that bothers you?" Liam asked.

"_And I don't want the world to see me, cause I don't think that they'd understand_," the song continued playing.

"You really want to do this?" Lily asked, uncertain.

"How bad could it be? I'm sure I'll cope," Liam replied. "Tell me."

"Well, for starters, you're rude," Lily began. "You're arrogant, conceited, you date girls and dump them quickly, you use them for your own amusement. That's not what a relationship is about, that's not how to treat a girl. Girls deserve respect, people deserve respect, you don't give them that. You walk all over people because you think you're that amazing. You'd be more amazing if you were a little nicer."

"_When everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am_," the lyrics filled their silence.

Liam looked at her, stunned. Pain, then anger crossed his face, before he put on a mask of indifference.

"Right. Well, thanks for clearing that up for me," Liam told Lily in an unreadable tone.

Lily couldn't tell if he was still angry, hurt or if he didn't care.

They finished their dance, their silence more awkward than before.

The last words of the song played, "_I just want you to know who I am_". Lily stepped back from Liam, he looked at her and said, "Thanks."

Lily wasn't sure whether he was referring to the dance, or to their chat, but she just nodded and slipped off through the crowd to find Scott.

Lily found Scott sitting at their table, waiting for her to return. She sat down on the edge of his lap, put her arms around his neck and leaned into him.

"I missed you," she told him.

"We were apart one dance," Scott returned. He caught her little glare and added, "It's silly, but I missed you too."

Lily kissed his cheek and made no move to stand up.

"Are you alright?" Scott asked suddenly.

"Me? I'm fine!" Lily exclaimed cheerfully. "Come on, dance with me!"

"As you wish, my Queen," Scott replied playfully.

Lily laughed, her usual infectious laugh, and appeared to be her normal, happy self.

_You're all I want, you're all I need, you're everything, everything_

As the dance began to wind up, Lily, Keira, Scott and Ethan piled back into their limo to head to Keira's place before everyone descended upon them. Once there, Lily and Keira raced upstairs to change out of their long dresses. Lily placed her crown on Keira's dresser, and they went downstairs and found the boys had got them drinks. Lily had changed into a class little black dress with red heels, and was ready to party some more.

Car by car, couple by couple, people arrived, and the house quickly filled. Most people had changed before coming to the after party, no one really wanted to turn up in the same outfit that they'd been seen in earlier in the evening.

Lily had been dancing closely with Scott for some time, and Liam had been standing nearby, downing a large amount of Jack Daniels. Lily and Scott danced more closely and more raunchily, and Liam drank more, and became more and more drunk.

Scott and Lily stopped dancing, Scott went to have a beer with a couple of his friends, and Lily starting dancing with her friends.

"You looked so stunning tonight," Mia told Lily.

"You deserved to be Queen," Melanie told her.

"Thanks you two. Keira and Mia, you both looked lovely, and either of could have been Queen," Lily said kindly.

"You looked gorgeous before Lil," Sophie began, "but you look seriously hot now. That dress, with those shoes, is to die for. Scott could barely keep his hand off you!"

Lily giggled, pleased.

"I'm surprised he's left you alone now," Keira remarked.

"Oh, we're all dancing together, it's fine," Lily said unconcerned.

Everything continued to run smoothly until Lily felt someone grab her waist and spin her around. It wasn't Scott's touch, and he spun around to find herself in Liam's arms. He pulled her flush against him and start to dance. Lily pulled back from him a little, as her friends watched in interest.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked, annoyed.

"Dancing," Liam replied drunkenly.

"Not anymore we're not," Lily said, trying to release herself from his arms.

"Yeah, we are," Liam retorted.

Lily tried to pull away more, but Liam wouldn't let her. He then leaned down and kissed her, thoroughly, and drunkenly. Lily tried to get out of his arms, but Liam was taller, bigger and stronger than her. He pulled back slightly from her which gave her the opportunity to slap him across the face. She hit him hard, and there was a resounding slapping noise, and a red mark immediately began to form on his cheek.

Liam stepped back, blinking. Lily's friends had been watching on in interest and then horror, and were completely mesmerised by the whole encounter. Needless to say, most people around had stopped dancing, and had been watching the interaction. Someone had run off to tell Scott what had been happening, and Scott appeared at a run, thirty seconds after Lily slapped Liam.

Scott looked at Lily, realised she was not hurt, only royally pissed. He looked at Liam, noticed his drunken state and red cheek.

"Did you kiss my girlfriend? Without her permission?" Scott asked angrily.

"What are you going to do about it," Liam slurred.

Scott threw a punch at Liam, catching him on the jaw, and sending him sprawling to the floor.

"Someone take him home," Scott said loudly, in disgust. "Now, before I hit him again."

Josh quickly came to Liam's side, picked him up and said, "Come on man, night's over for you."

Liam didn't protest and let Josh guide him out of the party.

"Show's over!" Scott said angrily to the onlookers.

Lily laid a calming hand on his arm and Scott amended his comment, "Um, everyone go back to partying."

Lily smiled in agreement, but took Scott's hand and led him up to Keira's room. It was locked to keep unwanted people out, but Lily knew how to get in and the two on the sat down on the edge of Keira's bed.

"Are you alright?" Lily asked Scott softly.

"Am I alright?" Scott scoffed. "I should be asking you that."

"I'm fine. I'm not hurt, just annoyed. Liam's drunk and a jerk, not a good combination for him," Lily replied. "Thank you for defending me," she added gently. She kissed his hand softly and smiled at him.

Scott pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.

"You know, it doesn't matter what he says to me, or does to me," Lily said quietly. "I love you, only you, I want only you. I want to be with you, I want **you** to be my first, not him, and not anyone else. I love you because you love me, for who I am. You protect me, care about me, think of special surprises and presents for me. He may have been crowned my King tonight, but really, he doesn't come close for me. You're the one that I want, you're **all** that I want."

"I love you Lily Kane," Scott said tenderly. He kissed her softly, then more fiercely.

They fell back onto the bed, kissing passionately. Scott made quick work of Lily's dress and she likewise removed his shirt. Soon Lily's red lace bra was on the floor, bare skin touched bare skin, moans could be heard between kisses.

"Scott, we need to stop," Lily said breathlessly. "We can't here, not like this, not on Keira's bed with a houseful of people below!"

Scott ran his hand through his hair, "You're right. We just got carried away," he told her.

"It'll be soon," Lily promised, kissing him lightly on the lips.

They both redressed, smoothed down their appearances and returned to the party. Keira looked questioningly at Lily and she just smiled at her.

Keira cornered her a short while later and said, "Please tell me you did not just have sex on my bed."

"Keira! No, we didn't, promise," Lily replied. "We just needed to talk after the incident."

Keira raised an eyebrow. "Oh fine, we made out as well," Lily owned.

"Good, I'd be worried if you hadn't!" Keira exclaimed. "Feel free to have sex as well, just make sure it's not on my bed, and preferably not in my house."

"Thanks Keira, I'll keep that in mind," Lily said with a playful smile.

"You two still haven't slept together, have you?" Keira questioned.

"My lips are seeled," Lily replied, smiling cheekily.

"Oh my God, you have!" Keira squealed. She looked at Lily's face. "Oh, you haven't?" Lily's face remained blank.

"When you need to know, you'll know," Lily said seriously. "I trust you, you're my best friend. I'll let you know when we do. We haven't yet," Lily said, taking pity on Keira, "but I think it will be soon."

"I'll hold you to that," Keira replied. "But now, let's dance!"

**AN: Well, there you have it. The next chapter is also something pretty special, or so I think. I love receiving your reviews, so please drop me a little message in the box below! Reviews inspire me to write more :)**


	7. Chapter 7 The first time

**AN: It's come to my attention that I've been using the wrong spelling of practice (practise) oops. So I've fixed that from here on in, my apologies for before!**

Chapter 7 – The first time

_The first time, ever I saw your face, I thought the sun rose in your eyes_

Monday morning found the students of Neptune High back at school, some of them looking a little the worse for wear after a big weekend. Tired though some people were, the halls were buzzing with the incident from the after party. Everyone who hadn't been there had definitely heard about it by Monday morning. Lily walked down the hall, and as usual, people stood aside to let her through, and today they whispered excitedly to one another as they did so. Lily was use to the whispering, she was often talked about, so today wasn't much of an exception. She was however displeased that they couldn't just leave the disastrous incident behind.

Later in the day Lily walked out to the lunch area, alone, which was an abnormality. Usually at least one of her friends, or Scott was with her. She paused and looked over at her usual spot, where Scott was already seated with Ethan and Keira. He turned and met her eyes, almost as if he'd sensed her presence. Lily smiled at him, remembering the day they'd met. Back then she had had no idea how important he would become in her life.

**Flashback**

It was Lily's first day at Neptune High, as a freshman. She spent the summer in Neptune with her father and his friends, getting to know everyone. She hadn't really met anyone her own age though. Still, all the wealthiest families in town knew of Duncan's return with his daughter, so the hall's of Neptune High were filled with chatter about Lily's appearance at the school. Melanie Wheeler had taken Lily under her wing, she was a freshman, but she was also an 09er, so that automatically gave her a place of standing within the school.

People saw Lily and looked at her in awe, everyone knew the story of her aunt's death, and her father's flight with her, and to top it off she was a Kane. People looked at her as if she was royalty. Lily was a little amused by it all, and also a little confused. She'd not had attention like this before, but Veronica had warned her about how the students at Neptune would react to her.

Melanie guided Lily over towards the 09er lunch tables.

"Hey everyone, this is Lily Kane, she and her dad are staying in Neptune, so she's coming to school with us!"

Lily received a chorus of "Hi Lily!"

"This is my sister, Hayley, she's a senior," Melanie introduced.

"Nice to meet you Lily," Hayley greeted warmly. "This is Ally, Ellen and Lauren. Those guys over there are Rick, Tom and Mark. They're all in my year."

Lily smiled at the girls, observed the guys and said, "Thanks, it might take me a little while to get the names down."

"And these people are in our grade," Melanie continued. "This is Mia, Keira, Sophie and Emma. We all went to middle school together."

Lily smiled again, and Melanie pursued her task of introductions. "Over there are some boys in our grade. There's Ethan, Liam, Harry and Scott."

Scott was the boy Melanie pointed at last, he had been sitting with his back to the girls, but turned around almost immediately after Melanie pointed him out. He looked at Lily, grinned at her and she smiled appealing back. Scott nudged Harry, who was sitting next to him and he also turned to look at Lily, smiling at her as well. Liam and Ethan both looked over at her in interest and Lily offered the boys another smile. They all returned to their food after that, and Lily sat down at a table with Melanie and the other girls in her class. They began chattering about their first day, teachers, classes, boys. If Lily had been paying close attention she would have realised that they were already beginning their hero worship of her, but she was too focused thinking about the boys she had just, in a sense, met.

They were all attractive guys, Ethan appeared pleasant and casual, Liam arrogant, Harry friendly, and Scott, there was something about the way his eyes had lit up with interest at seeing her. Lily looked around at her new friends and peers and quickly decided that she was going to like high school. She stopped thinking over the people she had met, and began to focus on the conversation with the girls.

**End flashback**

Lily walked over to her lunch table, sat down next to Scott, who snaked an arm around her waist, kissing her lips quickly.

"What are we talking about?" Lily asked, grabbing a slice of pizza from the box on the table.

"Just a prank Michael pulled on Mr Smith," Mia answered. "Mr Smith took Michael's phone for the day one day last week, so Michael's wanted revenge."

"It was so good," Melanie added, giggling. "You know how Mr Smith always uses that pointer when he teaches? Yeah, well Michael got into the room before he arrived and covered the handle in Super Glue. So Mr Smith came in and started teaching, he picked up the pointer pretty soon in, it was so hard not to laugh already. I'm surprised he didn't notice the feel of the pointer when he picked it up, but he didn't, so when he tried to put it down, he couldn't. He stood there shaking his hand about, trying to prise his fingers off. It was priceless, we were all laughing by this point. He yelled at us all, demanding to know who did it. No one told him of course, and kept laughing as he left the classroom to try and get it off."

Lily laughed at the story, the others chuckling along with her. "I wish I'd been there to see that," Lily said, still laughing. "I love a good prank."

"Really," Ethan said with interest.

"You bet, just as long as it's not played on me!" Lily said shrewdly.

_And the first time, ever I lay with you, I felt your heart so close to mine_

Tuesday morning Lily arrived in the school parking lot. Scott pulled up next to her, jumped out of his car, and greeted her with a good morning kiss.

"Hey, I was thinking," Lily began, as they stood leaning against her car, "neither of us have practice this afternoon, so why don't you come over? Dad and Eva are both working pretty late tonight too."

"Sounds good. What did you have in mind?" Scott asked, grinning at her.

"Well I wasn't really planning on studying, or talking I guess," Lily replied, seductively.

"Ah, you want to play charades!" Scott said, pretending to be excited.

"If you really want," Lily said with playful disinterest. "Strip charades could be even more fun."

"Whatever you want to do, I'm up for it," Scott told her.

"Oh, I hope you will be **up**, for it, well rather, me," Lily replied naughtily.

"Oh my God, you didn't just make a pun, and a pun about sex," Scott replied, stunned, yet amused.

"You'll never know," Lily said cheerfully. "Come on, time to learn, woo!"

"Yeah, woo," Scott returned, unenthusiastically.

"Aw, cheer up, school's not that bad," Lily replied, pinching his cheek jokingly.

"Yeah, for you, you're smart, and you put effort into your work," Scott retorted.

"Well you're not dumb, you could do some school work instead of breezing along and playing football," Lily told him.

"Hey, what's with the serious talk? Can't we go back to the sex talk?" Scott asked, trying to deflect the focus on his laziness.

Lily smiled at him, "Ask me this afternoon."

Scott's eyes lit up and he followed Lily into the school halls.

When the bell rang at the end of school, Lily quickly grabbed her things, rushed to her BMW and raced home. She knew Scott would hang around for a few minutes talking with his friends before he made his way over, so the way she figured it, she had about fifteen minutes to get ready.

She got out of her school clothes and slipped into a little garment she had bought with her plans in mind. It was a pleated babydoll set with matching silk panties, the ensemble a burgundy colour. It had spaghetti strap sleaves, the bodice was made from lace, and had a satin bow under the bust. Sheer material fell from there down, the silk panties visible. Lily released her hair from the ponytail it had been in all day and shook it out.

Lily heard Scott's car arrive and flitted downstairs, opened the front door and left it a little ajar for Scott. She didn't wait and greet him, but turned and slipped back upstairs. Scott stepped inside and just glanced her disappearing up the stairs, noticing the edge of the sheer, burgundy material. Scott pocked his keys and followed her quickly upstairs, intrigued by her mysterious behaviour, and by what he had seen of her outfit.

Scott reached Lily's room and saw Lily standing next to her bed, smiling a little shyly at him. Scott ogled at her, and grinned at her appreciatively.

"It seems that I'm a bit under dressed," Scott told her.

"Yeah, you should probably fix that," Lily replied.

"So, strip charades then?" Scott asked seriously.

"I think you could just go to the strip step," Lily said flirtatiously.

Scott took his keys and wallet out of his pants, placed them on Lily's dresser, then slipped his shirt over his head, and dropped his pants to the floor, leaving him in only his boxers.

He moved towards Lily's taking her in his arms and kissing her passionately. Some time later Scott reached for his wallet, grabbing a condom from it. He looked at Lily, searching her face for any uncertainty. She just smiled lovingly at him and kissed him.

Afterwards, Lily and Scott lay wrapped in each other's arms on her bed. Her room looked as it always did, but the curtains were drawn, even though it was only afternoon. There were no candles, no rose petals, there was no music playing. Lily hadn't wanted a production like that. She felt it should be about them, and their love. And it had been. It had been wonderfully sweet and intimate. Scott kissed her forehead and stroked her hair, and Lily felt completely comfortable and calm.

"I love you," she said to Scott.

"I love you too," Scott returned.

"I feel so happy, and drowsy," Lily said.

Scott smiled at her and asked, "What time will your dad be home?"

"Not for a few hours, same with Eva," Lily answered.

"Well, I'll set my phone alarm and we can stay here, don't worry about falling asleep," Scott told her.

He fixed his alarm and Lily repositioned herself in his arms, snuggling close to him, her head resting on his chest. She fell asleep listening to the steady rhythm of his heart.

_And I knew our joy, would fill the earth_

The next day at school Lily walked the halls of Neptune High, trying to not too smile too enthusiastically. The previous afternoon hadn't been what she'd imagined, because you can't imagine something like that, but it had been perfect for her. She smiled sweetly at the memory. She remembered waking up in Scott's arms, seeing the look of adoration he was giving her. They had dressed and Scott had left soon after, wanting to avoid seeing Duncan.

"I don't want to have to look your dad in the eyes after having deflowered his only daughter. I want your dad to keep liking me, scratch that, I want to stay alive," Scott had said to her.

"Scott!" Lily had admonished him. "Deflowered? Really? It wasn't like that, and you know it you big idiot. But yeah, you'd better avoid Dad today, I'd hate for him to suspect anything."

Scott left, Lily sat down in the living room to work on some routines for cheer practice the next afternoon. Eva and Duncan both arrived him, neither of them noticing anything out of the normal. There really wasn't anything out of the normal to notice. For Lily nothing had really changed, she was still in love with her boyfriend, only now she had a true appreciation for sex.

After cheerleading practice Keira and Lily stopped off at a café near the beach and grabbed a coffee together.

"So you left school in a rush yesterday," Keira remarked slyly. "Then you didn't answer my messages until late in the evening. Anything you want to share?"

Lily laughed. "You're creepy, you know that?"

"Yep, I have a wonderful sex radar," Keira said. "It's true."

"Yeah, well, you're a genius. Good for you," Lily replied. "I told you I'd tell you, so I am. We did, and it was wonderful, and I'm leaving it at that. Ask all you want, but I'm not telling you any more."

"I love being right," Keira replied with a satisfied sigh. "Now all you're going to want to do is sneak off and have sex. No, really, you think I'm joking, but at first it's all you're going to want to do."

"Nope, not bothering me at all," Lily said with a grin. "Just think of the great exercise it is!"

"Like we're in need of exercise. What with cheerleading and gym, we don't need to work out anyway, let alone use sex for exercise you dork," Keira retorted.

"Don't even care Keira, I love life," Lily said happily.

The next day was Thursday, which found everyone at the Kane's for dinner. Lily was playing on a rug in the living room with Justin and Caroline, while Aubrey was sleeping in her Port-a-Crib in a guest room. In the next room Dick and Logan were arguing over who danced better. Duncan, Dick and Logan had been discussing the formal dance classes that they had all been forced to take at one time or another growing up, and Dick and Logan both insisted that they were the better dancer. Duncan stayed quiet, happy to let his two friends argue over the matter.

"DK, put something on that we can dance to!" Dick ordered Duncan. "We'll settle this properly."

Veronica and Mac looked on in amusement.

"What are you two grinning at?" Eva asked. "They're going to want you to dance with them."

"Ha, that's what Dick thinks," Mac replied. "I don't dance at the best of time, and I'm almost five months pregnant now. I am not dancing with him."

Lily appeared at this minute, curious at the commotion coming from the room.

"Why is anyone dancing?" Lily asked.

"Uncle Logan and Uncle Dick both think they're the better dancer, thanks to their fancy lessons from when they were kids," Veronica explained.

"This should be hilarious," Lily said gleefully. "I'm so videoing it!"

"Mackie, we're going to cha cha, it's the most fun next to jiving, and there's not enough room for that. All the others are shit," Dick announced.

"Ronnie, time to use those dance lessons you had," Logan told her.

"Only because you're such fun to dance with, **and** if you make it up to me later," Veronica said seductively.

Logan smirked at her, meanwhile Mac was speaking to Dick. "Dick, I'm not dancing with you. I'm freaking pregnant!"

"Oh, right. Sorry babe. Lily-love! You can dance with me!" Dick decided, knowing Lily had also had formal dance lessons.

Lily stopped watching in amusement, realising that she had been roped into the nonsense.

"Don't worry Lil," Eva said, "I'll be sure to video it for you!"

"Oh, thanks so much," Lily replied dryly, her fate sealed.

Justin and Caroline were still playing obliviously in the next room where Lily had left them safely in a playpen. Duncan pressed play on the music, _Let's Get Loud_ by Jennifer Lopez coming out of the speakers. Logan took Veronica's hand, Dick grabbed Lily's, both men moving their partners around the cleared floor. To their credit, both Dick and Logan were actually respectable dancers, and they danced skilfully to the music.

Dick, as in everything he did, was exuberant and full of fun, and he and Lily danced well together, both laughing and smiling as they found a rhythm.

Logan and Veronica danced more intimately, having danced before, and being married. Both were enjoying themselves, as they always did when they danced.

The others watched on, enjoying the sight before them. The song ended and they ruled it a tie.

"Babe, they've got nothing on our kind of dancing," Wallace declared loudly to Amanda. Amanda grinned, nodding her head.

"Okay Nelly, you just show us how you dance then," Veronica challenged. "Bring it!" Veronica added, trying to sound gansta.

"Brung! All I need to do is find me some real music," Wallace returned.

Wallace walked to the stereo and finally found something he liked and pressed play. _Billie Jean_ by Michael Jackson filled the room and Amanda and Wallace began to dance, and dance well.

Once they'd finished Veronica said, "You win, you're the master. I bow down!"

"Aw yeah, that's right!" Wallace crowed. "I'll be expecting a double batch of snickerdoodles next time you see me Superfly."

Veronica grinned at him and everyone continued their evening of merriment.

After dinner everyone was sitting around talking when Duncan said, "Lily has the week off next week for Fall break. Why don't we all head up to Napa, if not for the week, at least for a few days?"

The plan was expected, details hashed out and everyone was headed to Napa for the next week. Lily was looking forward to going, especially to ride her horse, she just didn't know how to break the news to Scott. She didn't especially want to spend a week away from him, not just now, and she doubted he'd want her to leave either. However she had no thoughts of inviting him, it would be too risky, a house filled with people, and all they'd want to do would be to sneak off and have sex. She was not risking that with Dick and Logan around, she knew they were experts on all things sex, they'd just know by looking at her and Scott together. Lily decided not to dwell on it, it wasn't important in the grand scheme of things, and her week had been too wonderful for it to bother her.

**AN: Dear readers, I hate to beg, but ****I feel neglected**, so, those who don't review, please do :) It would make my day! Thanks to all of you who have been, much love!


	8. Chapter 8 Rolling in the deep

Chapter 8 – Rolling in the deep

_There's a fire starting in my heart, reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark_

Lily had gone over to Scott's the following Sunday afternoon, once they had returned from there trip to Napa. Scott had been disappointed that she was going away for the whole week, but once she arrived at his house, his empty house, that was all forgotten. He had grabbed her, pulled her inside and started kissing her fiercely. Between kisses Lily said, "I. Missed. You. So. Much!"

"I missed you too, I've been waiting to do this all week," Scott replied. "Mom and Dad are out, really out, and they won't be here for at least an hour."

"Good," Lily replied, resuming kissing him and taking his shirt off, dropping it on the floor where they stood.

They made their way up to Scott's room, frantically kissing, leaving a trail of clothes along the way. They fell into Scott's bed, Scott running kisses along Lily's collarbone. Lily in turn trailed kisses along his jaw line, then down his chest. Scott sucked on one particular spot on Lily's neck and she emitted a gasp of pleasure. They continued to kiss furiously, tongues tangling, hands everywhere, desire evident in their eyes and bodies.

Afterward, they lay completely spent in Scott's bed, talking quietly.

"So, how was Napa? I know we talked while you were there, but we didn't exactly get to talk about what you had been up to," Scott said.

Lily giggled, "Good point. Well, it was a pretty good week actually. We went riding, the pool is well heated, so we even went swimming. Uncle Dick held Caroline on her pony while the groom led her around. I'm not sure who looked more excited the whole time! Aunt Veronica turns into a five year old when she sees her horse, it's absolutely priceless, so that was all good fun. It's nice, all of us being in that big house together. It's pretty much a week long sleepover. I get to play with Caroline, Justin and Aubrey whenever, I just love them, they're so cute. A couple of evenings we played board games, well Aunt Mac, Aunt Veronica, Eva and I did. Amanda read a book, and Dad and the others played video games. Sometime I don't think they'll ever really grow up. Other than that, we just lazed around really, it was nice, reading, watching movies, we did a bit of cooking, and a lot of eating," Lily finished.

"Yes, I've seen the way you all eat. It's really something else," Scott told her, chuckling. "Well you had fun, but I just sat here, missing you."

Lily hit him on the arm. "Well, I did have some fun with the guys, but I did miss you."

"Oh I believe you," Lily impishly said. "I missed you too. And now, I appear to be missing all my clothes. It might be about time that I find them!"

Lily slid out of the bed and followed the trail of clothes, dressing herself as she went. On her way back to Scott's room she collected his clothes and threw them at him when she got back to his room.

They settled down on top of his bed and watched a movie for the rest of the evening, ordering take out to eat during it.

When Lily went home at the end of the night and had settled herself in her own bed, ready to return to school the next day. She lay there, replaying her evening, thinking about the feeling of Scott's lips on hers, the way her skin burned under his touch. Suddenly, and unbidden, Liam's face flashed into her memory, the way he had grabbed her and kissed her roughly and drunkenly. It wasn't something that she wanted to repeat, not like that, but she had been intrigued by the way his lips melded with hers, unwanted though it was. She couldn't help wondering what it would be like to kiss him under different circumstances. But mainly, she was still infuriated with him, and he needed to be punished. Sure, Scott had punched him, and she'd slapped him, but he was drunk, so he probably wouldn't remember much of that. No, he needed to have some drawn out punishment.

Lily wasn't sure where she'd go after the punishment, she figured she'd have a better idea of what course of action to take once she'd seen how Liam dealt with whatever she stuck him with. Anyway, she figured she'd have some fun along the way, Veronica would probably have a few good suggestions for retribution, after all she'd heard stories of Veronica in high school days.

Lily rolled over, trying to find a comfortable spot, trying to fall asleep. Her mind was too active, she was tired and wanted to sleep, especially with school the next day. Eventually her eye lids became heavy and her mind slowed down until she was breathing evenly and sleeping peacefully.

_I'm gonna make your head burn, think of me in the depths of your despair_

Monday morning Lily arrived at school and met Scott in the parking lot. She greeted him with a morning kiss, a very drawn out morning kiss, involving tongue and roaming hands. This was partially due to the fact that it had been a lot harder for Lily to keep her hands to herself since they'd started sleeping together, but also because she'd noticed that Liam had also just arrived in the parking lot. So basically she got to have fun making out with her boyfriend, but also hopefully torment Liam, and punish him a bit for the other weekend.

"Good morning to you too," Scott said, a little in awe. Lily wasn't usually a huge fan of prolonged public displays of affection.

Lily grinned at him, and didn't look at Liam at all. She had no intention of paying him any extra attention, or even acknowledging him. She had no desire to use any energy giving him attention, attention was what he wanted, so pretending he didn't exist was also a phase in her plans for punishment. Pretending his didn't exist, but knowing of his presence and tormenting him was suiting her just fine, she was pretty pleased with herself, and it was only Monday morning. Scott took her hand and they walked into the school together, each making a stop at their lockers.

Throughout the day Lily continued to engage in public displays of affection with Scott, they got particularly carried away at their lunch table, so much so that Ethan threw a French fry at them and said, "Hey! Cut it out you two, or get a room or something."

Keira was looking at Lily and Scott with interest, but chalked their behaviour up to the fact that they'd started sleeping together.

Lily giggled and detangled herself from Scott. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "What are you up to? You're driving me crazy!"

Scott was not the only one she was driving crazy, she had already started to make Liam feel bad, and jealous, and stupid. When he woke up on the Sunday after Homecoming, scenes from the night before had flashed through his mind, then he'd run to the bathroom to hurl. He'd had one hell of a hangover, and it had been made much worse by all the details from the previous evening that kept coming back to him in snippets. What Lily had said to him during their dance had really got to him, mainly because he realised she was right. He hadn't wanted to deal with it though, so he'd got absolutely wasted, just another mistake, just one more to add to the already long list of mistakes he'd made regarding Lily. He hadn't seen much of her the week following Homecoming, Scott had seen to that, the they'd all been off for the next week. By the time it was time to return to school Liam had had plenty of time to think over everything Lily had said, and he knew he'd have to do something to fix everything he'd done. Unfortunately he had no chance of doing so as Lily seemed focused on torturing him, that or she was just completely absorbed with and in love with Scott, which was torture anyway.

Monday afternoon found them all the cheerleaders and football players at practise as usual. Both Liam and Scott found themselves not concentration on their coach, but on Lily. Both had to try to ignore her, Scott because if he didn't he was probably going to end up jumping her in front of everyone, and Liam because it wasn't fair, not to him, and not to Lily and Scott. He couldn't hope to fix anything with her if he didn't behave in a way that she thought was acceptable. So, both boys tore their eyes away from her and tried not to listen to her voice as it floated across the field towards them.

"Chloe, you're not quite sticking that landing properly," Lily told her. "Try it again."

Naturally, Chloe tried it again.

"Better, but just do it a few more times to make sure you've really got it," Lily commanded. "But good work."

Lily always tried to maintain a balance between firm and authoritative, and kind and encouraging. If you were a bitch people still did what you asked, they just didn't like you, but treating them with respect meant that you'd gain their respect too. This was something Duncan had taken time to instil in his daughter's mind. She was a Kane, and Kane's were born to lead, according to Jake Kane. Jake had been lecturing Lily on the importance of leading, and making people do what you wanted them to, soon after they returned to Neptune. Duncan had felt it necessary to make his own modifications to Jake's slightly questionable instructions later.

Lily took her position in the formation she'd devised that the girls ran through their routine a few times. Not long later it was time for practise to end, most people headed towards the car park and left. Scott and Lily were the only ones left eventually and they were standing next to Scott's car and he was kissing Lily's neck and lips, his hands resting comfortably on her butt. They broke apart when they heard a car door next to them open. Liam stood there awkwardly at his car, a pained expression on his face. Lily looked in the other direction.

"Sorry man, I was just going over a few things with the coach. I'll get out of your way," Liam told Scott.

"Sure," Scott replied.

Lily still didn't look at Liam, so he left and Scott turned to her and said, "What's going on Lily? You've been all over me all day, I mean I love it, but it's not how we usually are. Now you're point blank ignoring Liam. Sure he's a jerk, and he screwed up, but he was drunk, and I punched him. Besides, I've been with you all day, it's not like anything's going to happen."

Lily didn't want to admit that she was punishing Liam, it seemed petty to say it aloud, particularly to Scott. It would also seem liked she cared too much if she was putting too much thought in how to pay him back.

"I just don't feel comfortable being around him still," Lily said, deciding it was close enough to the truth. "As for being all over you, I could stop if you want. I just missed you so much while I was away. I can't help it if I want you," she finished in a seductive whisper.

"God," Scott groaned. "Are you trying to kill me? Is anyone home at your place?"

"Soon probably, too soon to risk it," Lily answered, trailing her fingers down his chest.

"Shit, my mom is home too I think," Scott said, running his hand through his hand in frustration.

"Your car has pretty dark windows," Lily suggested, almost shyly, contrasting her previous bold behaviour.

"God, I love you," Scott said, grabbing her hand and guiding her to his car and into the passenger seat. Lily giggled, pleased with herself.

Forty-five minutes later Scott dropped Lily back at the school to pick up her car and they both went home from there. Once home Lily set to work on her homework, blissfully happy with how her day had turned out.

_Don't underestimate the things that I will do_

The next day Lily continued to pointedly ignore Liam as subtly as possible, quite a difficult task to execute. She wasn't as physical with Scott though, it appeared that she had got that out of her system the previous day. Still, there were sweet kisses, and hand holding, and the way they looked at each other conveyed intimacy. It was enough to make most people jealous, particularly Liam.

Throughout the day Lily focused on school, and her friends to a degree, but her mind was also spinning, thinking of things to add to her punishment plan for Liam. She decided she'd drop in and see Veronica, and have a chat with her, see if she could help her out with a few ideas.

Accordingly Lily was sitting in the kitchen with Veronica, drinking milk and eating cookies, cuddling Aubrey.

"So, what's up?" Veronica asked. "You said you had a few things to run by me."

"Well, you know Liam, the jerk quarterback? I have a bit of a score to settle with him," Veronica explained. "I have a couple of ideas, but I need help with one of them. Don't worry, none of it's dangerous, or illegal really. Besides, that never bothered you before!"

"What were you thinking?" Veronica asked slowly.

"See, it's this way," Lily began.

Once she'd explained her plan Veronica made a few suggestions and promised to sort out something to help.

"So it'll all be fixed for Thursday?" Lily asked, excitedly.

"Should be fine," Veronica confirmed.

"Wonderful!" Lily exclaimed gleefully.

"There's nothing serious going on with this guy is there Lily," Veronica asked.

"No, it's fine. He's just been giving me a had time for a few months, won't take no for answer. I figure this will work as a back off message, and pay him back for giving me a hard time. Nothing to worry about," Lily reassured her.

"Good, I had to ask, but I trust you," Veronica replied.

"Okay. Can we take Aubrey for a little walk?" Lily asked. "Just around the block or something, it's such a beautiful day."

"Sure, you get her a jacket and I'll get her stroller," Veronica replied.

On Wednesday Lily set her plans in motion and was almost giddy with anticipation.

"What is going on with you?" Keira finally asked after cheer practise on Wednesday. "You've been acting so strange all week."

"Not much really, but you might want to stick around after the last bell tomorrow. There's a reason I've put practise back a half hour," Lily explained.

"Is that why football is mysteriously a half hour later too?" Keira asked.

"Could be," Lily replied, grinning impishly.

Thursday afternoon arrived and Lily grinned to herself in satisfaction. She'd received a text message to let her know everything was ready to go and she couldn't wait. She'd continued to pay Liam no attention at all the last two days, and she could tell it was really getting to him. It was perfect really.

The final bell rang and students flooded out to the parking lot, either to get to their cars or to catch the bus. Lily had arranged for football and cheer practise to be delayed so that all the students would be out the front, instead of a lot of the 09ers getting ready for their practise sessions.

Lily left the school halls quickly, Keira and the rest of her friends following her closely. She wanted a good view of what was about to happen, and they wanted to know what she had been up to.

Once Lily reached her destination she stood there looking smug. Her friends started howling with laughter, and looked absolutely fascinated at the sight before them. More students poured out, the 09ers among them. Everyone stopped, stared, then started laughing. Everyone but Liam, because when he appeared out the front he found his car parked right out the front of the school. The fact that it was not where he had left it in the parking lot was not the issue, the issue was the car's new look.

Liam's parents had bought him a Porsche, a silver 911 Turbo Cabriolet to be precise, for his seventeenth birthday. He didn't always drive it to school, as driving his old Mercedes was sometimes more practical, but he tended to drive it most Thursdays. Everyone knew he loved his Porsche, there was after all, a lot to love about a car like that. Lily knew it too, and had used it to her advantage. She, with the help of Veronica, and her old friend Weevil, had arranged for it to be taken from the parking lot at the beginning of the day. It had received a rush paint job in a beautiful shade of pink, a bright Barbie pink, with little light pink flowers on the doors. The car certainly looked nothing like it use to, all of its former glory had disappeared in a wild combination of girly pink.

Liam looked absolutely shell-shocked, then he looked supremely pissed off. The 09er senior guys were standing with him, and were all laughing, along with the rest of the school. Liam may was their king, but it didn't mean they didn't find him a jerk at times, they were all loving the fact that someone had taken him down a peg or two. Most of the 09ers vaguely suspected Lily, especially Keira and Scott. Liam was absolutely certain it had been her doing, he just wasn't sure how she'd managed it.

After many photos had been taken the crowd began to disperse and people went their separate ways. Most of the 09ers were sticking around to attend their delayed practise sessions, of course they now knew why they'd been delayed. Everyone moved off to get ready for practise, everyone but Lily and Liam. Liam was staring at his car in dismay, trying to out what to do about it. Lily was standing there, getting as much enjoyment out of her prank as possible. She stood there, still chuckling, and Liam whipped around and said, "Kane! You did this! I mean seriously Lily, you can ignore me all week, torture me, I get it, but my Porsche?"

"Me?" Lily asked innocently. "I've been in school all day, ask anyone, I mean anyone."

"Yeah, but you organised it, didn't you," Liam accused, in frustration.

Lily just smiled blithely at him.

"Look, I should've have done what I did at that party," Liam said.

"I'm sorry, you should've have done what?" Lily said, wanting him to specifically acknowledge his actions.

"I shouldn't have drunk that much and got so wasted, and I shouldn't have danced with you like that and kissed you. I was upset about what you'd said to me at the dance, and I know, I asked you to tell me. All of it was my fault, and I'm sorry. I would've told you that earlier if you hadn't been avoiding me constantly," Liam owned.

"Well, I'm glad you've reached that conclusion," Lily said stiffly.

"Lily, I'm sorry, please, can you just stop being cold to me? I thought about what you said at the dance, really I did. Can we please try being friends?" Liam asked imploringly.

"We'll see," Lily said evasively. "If you can manage to be nice, and not only to me for a while, we'll see. But now, I have cheer practise to lead, and you have a car you should probably attend to, not to mention football practise. See you around."

With that Lily walked off, and Liam stood there attempting to process the last very confusing and tumultuous hour of his day.

**AN: Thoughts? Sorry we didn't make the trip to Napa, I had other plans. If you're desperate for a bit of Napa I could arrange a few flashbacks :) Thanks for reading! As always, I love reviews :)**


	9. Chapter 9 Party at a rich dude's house

Chapter 9 – Party at a rich dude's house

_Whoa oh, there's a party at a rich dude's house_

"So, how about you have a party today, after the game?" Lily suggested to Scott.

"Sure, my parents are out of town," Scott agreed easily.

"Great!" Lily replied enthusiastically. "I'll let the girls know, and I'm sure they'll spread the word."

"I'm sure they will," Scott said dryly. "I'll let the guys know, anyway. Um, about Liam, do you want me to let him know that he shouldn't come?"

"It's alright," Lily answered. "You know it was me who arranged for the beautification of his car, I've dealt my revenge. It's time to let him off the hook."

Lily also wanted to give Liam a chance to behave nicely around her, she'd told him that's what she'd be looking for, and a party would be temptation for him **not** to behave. It was a trial of sorts.

"Yeah, it was definitely your handiwork babe. Remind me never to piss you off," Scott replied.

"You'd better believe it!" Lily told him. "Class time, work first and play later," she said, kissing him goodbye swiftly.

Scott stared as he watched his girlfriend disappear. She was really something else sometimes.

"Party at Scott's tonight after the game, Soph," Lily told her when she was seated next to her in class.

"Awesome," Sophie enthused. "It might have trouble topping the last party, excitement wise."

"That kind of excitement I can live without," Lily replied. "Partying however, I am very much up for!"

"Do the others know yet?" Sophie asked.

"Yeah, I texted them. I only have class with you now, and I wanted to give them notice," Lily told her.

"Can't wait! So, do you think the boys will win tonight?" Sophie asked.

"I don't know. I mean, they've had a pretty good run so far, but so has the team they're playing next," Lily replied. "We'll see."

"Well at least if they lose they'll have hot cheerleaders on the sidelines as a consolation prize," Sophie remarked.

"Please, we're no one's consolation prize! Chris doesn't let you think that, does he?" Lily asked.

"No, no, of course not. You know I just meant they'd probably rathe win that have us around shaking pompoms. Things are good with Chris, early stages, but good," Sophie replied.

"Good, I'm glad you're happy," Lily said sincerely. "Oh good, Mr Murphey is here. I hope he's in a better mood today."

By lunch word about the party had spread, at least through the 09er crowd. Not many people outside it were invited, only boyfriends and girlfriends and the occasional best friend, but those were rare cases. There were some people on the football and cheerleading team who weren't 09ers, but they're positions on those teams gave them rights to popularity. They tended to get along well enough with the 09ers, and were included in most of their parties, particularly after football games.

Game time came and Neptune managed to maintain their winning streak, but only narrowly. Scott played a particularly good game, so it seemed fitting that the party had already been arranged to be at his house. The teenagers gathered their things and made their way to Scott's, large quantities of alcohol in tow. It was Scott's one condition, he didn't want to have to worry about replacing his parent's alcohol. The 09ers did tend to bring a lot of alcohol to their parties, but they often used the on hand supply at the house too.

At Scott's Lily changed into a long sleeve, gold bandage dress. It was the beginning of November and the weather had started to cool down substantially. Lily knew the dress left little to the imagination, it didn't show a lot of skin, but it was figure-hugging. She wanted to see if Liam was going to be able to control himself, regardless of how she looked.

People began flooding into Scott's house and soon the party was under way. Lily was in the mood to party, and she and her friends started off the night by doing shots, followed by dancing and then more drinks. They had been partying for a while when Lily noticed the time, then realised that it was getting late and Liam hadn't arrived.

Keira pulled Lily aside to get new drinks and said to her, "You know, the quarterback not being her is kind of conspicuous, Lil. You had your fun all week, you could've let Scott say it was alright for him to come."

"But I did say it was alright," Lily protested. "I'm ready to let him off the hook, I don't know why he's not here."

"Oh, but, I assumed he wasn't coming, I mean you're wearing **that** dress, and well he isn't here," Keira said incoherently.

"**This** dress?" Lily said amused. "It's just a dress, it even covers a lot more skin that some of my others," she added impishly.

"You know full well what I mean Lily Kane! That dress looks like it's been painted onto you! You look hot, but if I was your boyfriend I'd be jealous, and you know it!" Keira said in exasperation.

Lily just grinned back.

"Are you trying to make Scott jealous then? Keep him on his toes or something? Is it a 'we've had sex and I need to keep you interested thing'?" Keira asked her. "If you thought Liam would be here, why would you wear that, you know it could make potential trouble. God, I've had to much too drink to argue about this now!"

"You and me both," Lily replied. "I like this dress, I know that much, I've had too much to answer any of those questions. I love Scott, not Liam, so let's leave it there."

"Right, well let's go dance then!" Keira exclaimed, and it appeared that the matter was closed for the time being.

_Party 'til the break of dawn, come on let's do it_

Lily, Keira, Scott and Ethan were sprawled on a couple of lounges, talking, laughing and drinking when Liam arrived. The party had been in swing for some time, and his absence had been noticed with interest, so when the quarterback was spotted entering the house, a loud cheer erupted.

Liam grinned and gave a nod of acknowledgement to the general crowd. He moved through the house until he found Lily, and the others, laughing riotously on the lounges. He didn't move up close to them, but just stood a little way off, taking in the scene before him.

Ethan was the first one to notice him, "Hey dude, how's the car? Barbie come to claim in back?"

Lily and Keira went off into peals of laughter, both were fairly drunk by this point. Scott chuckled along with them.

"Yeah, good one Masters, already heard the Barbie jokes though," Liam retorted. "The car's in the shop anyway. It will be returned to it's former glory by Monday." He shot a triumphant glance at Lily and she just grinned back. For now, their war was over, and they were at an impasse. Currently, she was drunk and he was trying to tread very carefully.

"Anyway, I'll leave you guys to it," Liam said, and wandered off through the house. He couldn't stay around Lily, not with her dressed like that. It wasn't fair to either of them. His date from the Homecoming dance, Olivia, came up to him and started flirting obviously. He let her, he had no intention of pursuing anything with her, but she was a good distraction for the time being.

Back in the living room Scott said, "Well it looks like he's going to behave. I'm kind of relieved, the drama was getting tiring."

Ethan nodded and bumped fists with him. Lily just stayed where she was, sitting comfortably in Scott's lap. Keira however muttered drunkenly to herself, "Don't count your chickens before they're hatched."

Just then the doorbell rang, which was odd, seeing as everyone usually just let themselves in when there was a party. Lily pulled herself out of Scott's lap, he stood up too, and they went to the door together, Lily a teetering a little in her heels.

Scott opened the door, hoping that it wouldn't be Sheriff Mars, that would be awkward. Instead Logan Echolls and Dick Casablancas were standing there. Lily almost fell over in shock and Scott mentally hit himself over the head.

"Uncle Logan, Uncle Dick!" Lily finally managed. "What are you doing here, is everything alright?"

"Are we coming in or are you coming out?" Logan asked.

Lily assessed the noise and general debauchery levels and decided to step outside. "I'll come out here, see you inside in a minute Scott."

"What's up?" Lily asked, trying to sound as composed as possible.

"Tag team, dude?" Dick asked Logan.

Logan grinned in reply and began, "Well it's this was Lil. Your Dad had to go on an unexpected business trip tonight, and Eva managed to get a few days off, so she'd gone with him."

"So," Dick said, taking over, "you've been left in Ronnie and Logan's care. DK tried to call your cell, but you never answered, so he left Ronnie to let you know."

"Ronnie called a few times after that, but you still didn't answer, so she started to get worried. She's getting so maternal in her old age," Logan mused affectionately.

"Yeah, and Mackie, being hormonal, started to worry too. So they sent the two of us here to check on you," Dick finished.

"Yes, they know we're experts in all matters of 09er parties," Logan added. "So here were are, and here you are, absolutely wasted I might add, young lady."

"But we're the fun uncles," Dick continued, "so you can stay here, and we're just going to tell Ronnie that you're fine and having fun. But you owe us, probably about a weeks worth of babysitting."

Lily stood there throughout the whole conversation, feeling vaguely like she was in _Alice in Wonderland_ with Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

"So, what is exactly I'm supposed to do?" Lily asked, a little confused.

"Well, no driving, you should probably stay here until tomorrow. Oh, and no sex. Then sober up, and be at our house tomorrow for lunch," Logan said.

"And why are you here exactly?" Lily asked, still not entirely sure of all the details.

"Because you didn't answer you phone for hours, we were bored, and Mac and Ronnie were worried," Dick explained.

"Right," Lily said. "Okay. Um, tell them I'm sorry, and that I'm fine and having fun. I'll see you tomorrow Uncle Logan, bye Uncle Dick. Sorry you had to come out so late."

Dick and Logan looked at each other and grinned. "No trouble Lily-love," Dick said.

"We live for things like this, or at least, we use to," Logan remarked. "Be good, and I mean it, no sex! I will know, you know."

Lily nodded dumbly, quite believing him.

"Wait, how did you know where I was?" Lily asked as an afterthought. "I just told Dad I was going to a party after the game."

"Ronnie traced your cell," Dick said with a grin.

"Oh, right," Lily said, feeling stupid. "Well, bye." With that she turned and walked back inside with as much poise as she could muster. She turned and waved at Logan and Dick, and they walked back to Logan's car, very pleased with themselves.

Inside, Lily found Scott leaning against the bar, talking to Michael. She leaned up against him, circling an arm around his torso.

"What was that all about?" Scott asked her with interest.

"Well, as far I can tell, Dad and Eva have gone away on a business trip unexpectedly, I haven't been answering my cell, and Uncle Logan and Uncle Dick were bored and looking to have some fun," Lily summarised, quite accurately.

"Right. So everything's all good?" Scott asked for clarification.

"Yep. No problems. So, I'm going to get another drink and find the girls," Lily said, and she pressed a kiss to his cheek in farewell.

_And the sun is coming up and oh my God I think I'm still drunk_

The party lasted well into the hours of the morning, in fact, the last few stragglers were leaving just as the dawn came. Lily and her friends had continued to dance, and played a couple of drinking games. Liam didn't go near Lily for the rest of the party, he only stopped to say goodbye to her and Scott as he left.

Scott wearily closed the door as the last guests left. He turned and found Lily lying on a lounge, and flopped down next to her, cuddling up to her. Lily giggled and said, "So, we have the house to ourselves."

She tried to stand up and lead Scott away, but only succeeded in stumbling and falling back onto the lounge, giggling some more.

"What you need is to sober up and get some sleep," Scott told her.

"Fine," Lily huffed. "But you're coming with you."

"Damn straight I'm coming with you, I'm exhausted," Scott replied.

Up in Scott's room Lily peeled off her dress and Scott tossed her a hoodie of his. They both crawled into his bed just as the sun came up. They fell asleep almost immediately, and didn't wake until the sun was high in the sky.

Lily sat up slowly, trying to decide if she was sick or not. Upon reaching a fully upright position she decided that no, she did not have an enormous hangover, luckily.

Scott sat up next to her, still looking tired. "What are you doing Lil, don't you want to sleep more?"

"Can't, I've got to get to Aunt Veronica's for lunch," Lily answered.

"Alright. You feeling okay? You kind of drank a lot last night," Scott commented, beginning to wake up more.

"Yeah, I feel alright," Lily replied.

"You're probably not completely sober yet," Scott guessed. "If you stay awake you'll probably avoid a hangover. Take some Tylenol before you go, that should help make sure you don't get a hangover."

"Good idea. I'm just going to run down to my car and grab my clothes from yesterday, then head home," Lily told Scott. "You can go back to sleep if you want."

Lily trotted out to her car, holding up the pair of sweatpants she'd borrowed from Scott to complete her ensemble. She grabbed her things and went into the downstairs bathroom, changed and freshened up. She looked around the house and chuckled. She then slipped back upstairs and kissed Scott's cheek and said, "I'm going now. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye Lil," Scott murmured sleepily.

"By the way," Lily said, trying to contain her mirth, "you might want to get a cleaning crew in here or something."

Scott groaned, rolled over and buried his head in his pillow, apparently intent on sleeping.

Lily giggled quietly, picked her things up, left the house and drove home so she could change into fresh clothes before she went to the Echolls'.

Lily arrived at the Echolls', curious as to what Logan would have told Veronica about the previous evening. She knew Veronica was far from stupid, so even if Logan had sugar coated Lily's activities, Veronica would still be able to make a pretty good educated guess regarding the real story.

Lily opened the front door, stepped in and called, "Hello!" She knew Aubrey was usually awake at this time of the day, so it was fairly safe to make noise.

"In here," Veronica called from the living room.

Lily wandered in and set her things down on a nearby table. "Hi Aunt Veronica, hi Aubrey, you're getting so big!"

"I hope you're not referring to me," Veronica said dryly.

"Funny," Lily retorted. "Of course I mean Aubrey."

"How was your evening?" Veronica asked.

Now there was a loaded question if ever there was one. Loaded questions, the old Veronica Mars specialty.

"It was pretty good, we won the game, and the party was good fun," Lily replied carefully.

"Yes, it must've been really fun if you didn't answer your cell," Veronica returned.

"Oh Aunt Ronica, I am so sorry about that! I felt so bad when Uncle Logan and Uncle Dick showed up," Lily said remorsefully.

"Oh I'm not really annoyed," Veronica told her. "I was a little bit worried, but I didn't think you were in danger. I guess we were all a little bored and looking for some fun really," Veronica owned. "So Dick and Logan volunteered to 'check' on you, or rather, have a bit of fun."

"Oh," Lily said, drawing the word out. "So, I'm not actually in trouble, you guys were just looking for some fun. Right. Wonderful. And naturally Dad doesn't need to hear anything about this, seeing as I did nothing wrong and there was no trouble."

"Pretty much," Veronica said with a grin. "But just to be on the safe side, you'd better keep your promise to babysit Aubrey and Caroline, just for good measure. I think it will ensure Duncan hears nothing about large quantities of alcohol."

Lily nodded dumbly, deciding that it would be easiest to agree, Veronica and Logan could both talk circles around her. Besides, she adored Caroline and Aubrey, it was a small price to pay to keep her dad in the dark.

"How'd your little prank go?" Veronica asked, indicating that the party topic had been dealt with.

"Great," Lily replied, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "He also seems to have learnt his lesson, but I will time will have to tell. I like proof you know."

"Ah," Veronica said, wiping away an imaginary tear, "I have taught you well, young one."

Lily giggled, "You and Uncle Logan use Yoda impersonations at the weirdest times. You don't look like the type of people who would, either."

"Look beyond what you see," Veronica said, imitating Rafiki's voice from _The Lion King_.

"Too many movie references!" Lily cried. "But yes, I do try to look beyond the surface. I try not to be too vain and shallow, but occasionally I have a nasty bout of it. I don't really care though, for a teenage girl I think I do pretty well."

"I wasn't a normal teenage girl, so I couldn't really say for sure," Veronica replied. "I love you though, and I'm pretty sure everyone else does too."

"Oh good, I'd been worried about that," Lily joked. "Any chance we could eat now?" Lily asked.

Veronica laughed, picked Aubrey up and the trio of blondes went in search of lunch.

**AN: Hope you all enjoyed that :) Thanks for reading! As always, I love reviews :) Just out of curiosity, would people like me to post the title of the next chapter at the end of the previous one? As kind of a sneak peak/preview?**


	10. Chapter 10 For good

Chapter 10 – For good

_I've heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn_

Several after Scott's party, Tuesday to be precise, Lily strapped Caroline into her car seat and started driving. Lily was fulfilling her promise of babysitting, and Dick and Mac had called in their favour, knowing Lily didn't have cheer practice on a Tuesday afternoon. Lily had collected Caroline after school and had taken her home to play with her. That had worked for a while, but then Caroline had become grumpy, so Lily had tried to put her down for a nap. Caroline hadn't been a fan of this either and had started howling, loudly, and persistently. Duncan and Eva were both still away, and Lily hadn't wanted to both Logan and Veronica, they had their own daughter to take care of, so she decided to try driving Caroline around. She'd heard both her dad and Mac say that it sometimes helped in calming babies, or putting them to sleep. So Lily drove aimlessly around the streets of Neptune, her music playing quietly. Caroline quietened down almost immediately, and then her eye's became droopy. She had just dozed off when Lily pulled back into her driveway. Unfortunately Caroline noticed this, woke right up, and began to cry again.

Lily resigned herself to an afternoon of pointless driving and headed out towards the PCH. As she drove she ran through various things in her mind, trying to recall various things for her subjects at school, refining cheer routines, thinking about Scott and her friends. About twenty miles out of Neptune Lily decided it would be safe enough to turn around, Caroline had been sleeping peacefully for some time. Lily found a spot to turn around, and began to head back towards home. After about five minutes she began to notice that her car seemed more bumpy than usual. After five minutes more she was sure she had a flat. She pulled off to the side of the road at a safe spot. She sat in the car for a few minutes, waiting to see if Caroline would continue to sleep. She did, so Lily got out of the car to survey her wheels, and decide what to do.

The front right wheel was substantially deflated and Lily sighed in disgust. She had no idea how to change a flat, so that was out of the question. None of her friends knew how to change a flat, and she doubted if Scott would know how to change a flat. Still, she decided to call him first.

His phone rang, and then went to voicemail. Lily sighed again, this time in frustration. She decided to try Ethan next, hoping he'd have an idea of what to do. He, thankfully, answered his phone.

"Hey Ethan," Lily said.

"Hey Lil. Are you alright?" Ethan asked. Lily didn't have a habit of calling him, so he assumed something was up.

"Well, I'm kind of in a bit of a situation, and Scott isn't answering his cell," Lily replied. "I've got a flat, I'm about twenty miles out of Neptune."

"What are you doing out there?" Ethan asked curiously.

"Babysitting, don't ask why I'm out here for it," Lily replied. "So, any thoughts?"

"Hang on Lily. I've got an idea, I think. Let me make a call and I'll get back to you in a minute," Ethan told her.

He hung up and Lily leant against the car, pulling her jacket around her a little more tightly as the air was quite cool.

A few minutes later Lily's phone rang and she answered it immediately. "Ethan?"

"Hey Lil. Liam actually happened to be out that way this afternoon, so he's going to come and rescue you," Ethan told her.

"Oh, alright," Lily said, a little taken aback. "So, is he going to change my tyre, or what?"

"I'm not sure Lily, he just said he'd take care of it, or rather you," Ethan replied. "He should be there in five minutes. Let me know when you get home safe."

"Thanks Ethan, really, thank you," Lily said sincerely. "See you tomorrow."

Lily put her phone in her pocket, musing over the turn her little adventure had taken. Liam was coming to rescue her, whatever that meant. So, she'd either have to hang around with him while he changed her tyre, or more probably, end up in his car with him, heading back to Neptune while her car was towed. Lily was still pondering her fate when Liam pulled up, mercifully in his Mercedes. Lily, Caroline and Liam wouldn't have all been able to go in his Porsche.

"Well, what happened to you?" Liam asked her.

"Flat," Lily said succinctly.

"Yes, looks like fun. Why are you even out here?" Liam questioned.

"I was looking after Caroline, and she wouldn't sleep, so I took her for a drive, and then I got a flat. You know the rest," Lily explained.

"Why were you babysitting?" Liam asked with interest.

"I suppose it's some form of a punishment from the other night," Lily replied.

"Right. Well, I can't change a tyre. I could try, but I don't think it'd get us anywhere fast. So, I'll call for a tow, and I can take you and Caroline home," Liam suggested.

"That'd be good," Lily replied. "Um, thanks for coming."

"Don't worry about it. It was a good thing I was out this way," Liam said.

"Why were you out here?" Lily asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Believe it or not, Mom sent me. She had some package or other to be collected, and wanted me to get it, to make sure it got to her in one piece," Liam answered sheepishly. "Anyway, I'll make that call."

Half an hour later the tow truck had come, Lily had told them where to take the car, and she and Liam had moved Caroline into his car. Lily climbed into the passenger seat, and Liam jumped in the drivers seat. Caroline had woken up after she had been moved, but had woken up happy. She was content to sit in the back and chatter nonsense to herself.

Lily and Liam sat quietly, and slightly awkwardly in the front. Now that they'd sorted out the car situation they didn't really know what to say to one another.

"I was surprised you didn't know how what to do with your car," Liam began. "You seemed to have no problem thinking of something to do with mine!"

Lily laughed, "Yeah, that was my creative side coming out. The whole trying to solve a flat problem with a baby in my car, had me kind of stressing out."

"Your creative side should come with a warning," Liam remarked.

"So I've been told," Lily returned.

There was another deafening silence.

"So, did you have fun at the party?" Lily asked finally.

"It was alright," Liam replied. "I guess I'm just glad you were alright with inviting me."

"Well you asked for a chance, so I needed to give you one chance, at least to try being nice," Lily reasoned.

"Well, thanks, I guess. I meant it you know, I want for us to try to be friends," Liam insisted.

Lily smiled gently, "I'm beginning to believe you."

Liam gave her a boyish grin, and their next silence was less uncomfortable.

When they arrived at Lily's, Lily took Caroline out of her seat and carried her inside, Liam following her with the seat.

Lily set Caroline down inside and turned around to find Liam behind her with the seat.

"Oh, you didn't need to bring that, I could have got it," Lily told him.

"Don't worry about it," Liam replied easily. "She's a cute little thing. She'd Dick Casablancas' daughter, right?"

"Right. You wouldn't have thought her cute earlier this afternoon, she was howling like a monster," Lily said with a rueful chuckle.

Liam smiled at her, and Lily realised they were still standing in the doorway. "I should go in, and look after her. You can come in if you want, and have a drink or something," she politely offered.

"Thanks, but I should get going," Liam replied.

"Sure thing. Well, thanks for bringing us back here, I really appreciate it," Lily told him.

"You're welcome," Liam said sincerely. "What are friend's for?"

With that he turned and walked back to his car. Lily looked after him, thinking that she could get use to this nicer version of Liam.

_And we are led to those who help us most to grow, if we let them, and we help them in return_

At school on Wednesday it was apparent that Lily and Liam had reached a truce, and interacted amiably with one another when they came in contact. It was interesting for the rest of the school to observe the apparent peace between the 09er king and queen. They'd smile if they passed each other in the hallways, in contrast to the open hostility or the silent treatment of the previous weeks and months.

Lily was sitting next to Mia in English when Mia asked, "So, how did you and Liam manage to sort things out?"

"He stopped being an ass," Lily replied cheekily.

Mia laughed and said, "No, I mean really. You were fighting, then you pulled the ultimate prank on him. Then you still weren't really acknowledging each other at Scott's party. What happened?"

"Well, he said sorry, and I'd payed him back all I wanted to. He said he wants to be friends, and I guess I put him on some sort of probation, but yesterday he got me out of a sticky situation, and was super nice about it, so I figure I might as well give him a chance," Mia explained.

"What happened yesterday?" Mia asked.

"I got a flat, twenty miles out of town," Lily replied. "I tried calling Scott, but he didn't answer. In the end Ethan sent Liam to get me, long story short, he wasn't a jerk at all. So things are looking much more peacefully."

"This should be interesting, you two being friends," Mia said musingly.

"Oh," Lily added. "Scott rang me back about half an hour after I got home. So I had to explain it all to him, and tell him he was too late," Lily said, chuckling. "He was so apologetic, it was cute."

"He's alright with you two being friends?" Mia asked curiously.

"Yeah fine, even a little relieved I think. You know how he hates drama," Lily commented.

Mia nodded understandingly, and then their English teacher arrived.

At lunch Lily sat with her friends and told them about her afternoon the previous day.

"So Uncle Logan, Uncle Dick and Aunt Veronica practically blackmailed me into babysitting, so that they'd keep Friday night's details to themselves. I ended up with a screaming toddler, then with a sleeping toddler, stranded with a flat on the PCH. They couldn't have planned a better punishment if they'd tried," Lily remarked.

Her friends were squealing with laughter over the summarised version of her difficulties.

"And now you and Liam are friends," Melanie said. "It's almost too bad, I was kind of hoping for more master-minded pranks."

"True," Lily said thoughtfully. "It would be a waste to let my creative genius go to waste entirely, so we might just have to find new people to prank."

Lunch finished and Lily moved off to Trigonometry, the only class she shared with Liam. Normally he sat across the other side of the room, due to the glares she gave him upon his entrance. Today however, he entered the room and she smiled at him. He sat down on her right side, Melanie already stationed on her left.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey," Lily replied. "Did you get time to do the homework yesterday afternoon?"

"Barely," Liam said. "I was unexpectedly tied up, you know. Then it took me forever to do. I hate Trig!"

"It's not that bad," Lily returned, while Melanie listening to them talk, with interest.

"Says you," Liam retorted.

"Beauty, brains and billions, it's the Kane trifecta," Melanie chimed in. "Lily never has any trouble with any subjects!"

Lily looked a little embarrassed at that assessment of her life, accurate though it was, for the most part.

"If you're behind on anything because of yesterday, I can help you if you want," Lily offered, hoping to move past Melanie's trifecta nonsense.

"I'm alright I think, but thanks," Liam replied, noticing Melanie staring at them in interest.

Their teacher arrived, at the class began, ending conversation for the most part.

As the bell rang, signalling the end of class, Melanie, Lily and Liam walked out together. Mia found Michael waiting for her by the door, and walked off with him, leaving Lily and Liam to walk together.

"So, you know how you said you could help me with my homework?" Liam began. "Well, I actually wouldn't mind some help our Trig, if you're still offering. I just didn't want to say it in front of Melanie."

Lily laughed, "You idiot! Always thinking of your reputation. But yeah, I can help. It's my fault your behind."

"Actually, it's not really your fault, I just suck at Trig. I just figured I'd see if I could still take you up on your offer," Liam owned.

"Sure, I'll still help. How badly do you suck?" Lily asked curiously.

"I'm not flunking, but it's pretty close," Liam answered.

"Don't you want to go to college?" Lily asked.

"I guess so, my GPA's alright I guess. I should get scholarship offers for football," Liam replied.

"Yeah, but you won't get offered one if you're GPA isn't high enough," Lily countered.

"Well, with you helping me with Trig I should be alright," Liam said cheerfully.

"We'll see," Lily returned. "Anyway, I'll see you later."

_And now whatever way our stories end, I know you have re-written mine by being my friend_

The 09ers were standing around together in the parking lot on Wednesday afternoon after football and cheerleading practice. Lily was standing leaning up against Scott, but was turned to face Liam, who was talking to her. Scott was busy discussing a play from practice with Jim and Michael.

"So, when would be best for you to help me with Trig?" Liam asked her.

"Um, well we've got practice tomorrow, then an away game Friday," Lily mused. "I don't suppose lunch is an option, but I guess after practice and before dinner on tomorrow would be okay."

"Where did you want to go? We can go to the library if you want," Liam offered.

Lily laughed, "The captain of the cheerleading team and the captain of the football team, at the library, studying. That would be a sight! Well, dinner's at Aunt Mac and Uncle Dick's this week, so I'd normally go there straight after practice."

Liam looked confused, "We all have dinner together every Thursday fortnight," Lily explained. "It's not exactly a family thing, but we're all like family."

"You're sure it's okay if I come over then?" Liam asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine. Dinner's not until later. Besides, Caroline seemed quite keen on you," Lily said with a smile.

"Okay. Well I'm going to go, see you," Liam said, and with that he walked over to his freshly painted Porsche.

Lily moved around so that she was facing Scott now, and began to participate in the conversation he had was now currently in, with Ethan and Keira.

"It's so strange, I feel like I've stepped into an alternate universe," Keira said.

"I know, right," Ethan agreed with a grin.

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked.

"You," all three of them said together.

"You and Liam, more specifically," Keira expanded.

"Right," Lily said slowly.

"Don't worry babe, we were just joking," Scott said. "It's good that you two have buried the hatchet. It will just take time to get use to, especially watching you two stand there and talk nicely. It's just a big change."

"Seriously, it was never that bad," Lily protested.

The other three gave her pointed looks.

"Well fine, maybe it was. But he was a jackass, so it was his fault. I'm just being nice now because he is," Lily explained.

"Yeah, but you're going to help him with his homework now," Ethan said.

"That's your fault Ethan! You volunteered him to help me yesterday, so he didn't have enough time to work on his Trig," Lily retorted.

"Well, you should all thank me then. You're friends, it's weird, sort of, but everyone's happy. Done. Let senior year continue peacefully," Ethan replied.

They all laughed and soon parted ways, each going to their own homes.

When Lily got home she found Duncan and Eva there. She ran in, dropping her things in the doorway and jumped on Duncan, and yelled, "Daddy, you're back!", in excitement.

She hugged Evelyn as well, and sat down on the lounge between them.

"Sorry we had to leave in a rush Lily," Duncan said.

"Well, you did try and call. Sorry I didn't answer," Lily replied.

"Never mind. At least we got to speak to you while we were gone," Duncan remarked, smiling at his daughter.

"How was school?" Eva asked.

"Pretty interesting actually," Lily replied mysteriously.

"Really? Why?" Eva questioned.

"Well, Liam and I have called a truce, and everyone is pretty consumed by that," Lily replied.

"Liam? The quarterback?" Eva clarified.

"Yep. He'll actually be at Aunt Mac and Uncle Dick's for a bit tomorrow. I owe him one, and he asked for help with some homework," Lily explained.

"Right. Okay," Duncan said, not quite following the conversation. "So, I thought we'd have dinner with Granddad tonight. Is that alright with you?"

"Yeah. I'll just do some homework before we go, okay?" Lily asked.

"Sure," Duncan agreed.

"How is Granddad?" Lily asked, wanting to prepare for the coming evening.

"I spoke to him yesterday, and he seems to be alright. He sounds more energetic than he has for a little while," Duncan answered. "He always likes seeing you anyway."

Lily smiled, "Thanks. Well, I'll go do what I need to do, then we can go!"

Dinner at Jake's found Celeste absent, as was usual. She and Jake had continued to remain legally married, even after Lianne's death, but they were still no longer a couple. When they were together with Lily, they tried to be as pleasant with each other as possible, for her sake, but they often had little fights, old habits die hard and all. Dinner was spent with Jake asking Lily about colleges, school, and even Scott. Lily's birthday also came up in conversation, her eighteenth birthday approaching next month.

Thursday during school Lily became a little apprehensive about spending time with Liam that afternoon to help him with his homework. She was glad they were going to be in a house of people, it would be less awkward that way. They'd been spending a bizarre amount of time together over the past few days, which bothered her for a few reasons. She didn't want people to talk, and she didn't want Liam to think he could try anything. She had kind of been half expecting him to slip up and start giving her a hard time again, he hadn't so far. She was glad of that, because she was oddly enjoying getting to know him. By the time the afternoon came around, and cheer practice was over, she'd ran through everything in her mind, worrying and over-thinking. It turned out it was all for nothing however.

Liam followed her to the Casablancas house and they got out and went and rang the doorbell.

Dick opened the door and said, "Lily! And guy who is not Scott. Come in!"

Dick hugged Lily who laughed and said, "This is Liam. He's been a jackass, but I'm going to help him with some homework before dinner. We'll just sit out the back."

"Hi, I'm the currently reformed jackass," Liam said, introducing himself to Dick.

Dick grinned and said, "Dude, I know all about that. Still, if you're a jackass to Lily again I'll hurt you."

Liam looked curiously amused, and Lily laughed again, her tension and stress that had built up over the day, slipping away.

"Is Caroline up?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, she and Mackie are in there, playing with one of her gadgets," Dick answered. "You'd better watch out though, Mac's got some weird concoction on the table in there. Her food cravings are super weird at the moment," Dick added with a shudder.

"I heard that Richard!" Mac's voice called from a nearby room. "Just think about it this way, you put up with weird foods, or you can give up sex."

Liam looked at Lily in interest, and Lily grinned back, her eyes twinkling.

"Come on and meet Aunt Mac and see Caroline, then we'll get to work," Lily instructed.

Liam followed Lily through, met Mac, who blushed when she realised that not only Dick and Lily had been privy to her threat. Caroline smiled and pointed at Liam, who waved at her. Mac asked how Caroline knew Liam, so Lily explained Tuesday afternoon to Mac, having not mentioned it earlier. This was owing to the fact that she had only had time to drop Caroline home quickly that afternoon.

"Wait," Mac said, as Lily and Liam were moving to leave for the back room. "Liam. Liam is the one you pulled that prank on! Veronica told me about it. Genius, sheer genius," Mac remarked with a wicked grin.

Liam shuddered at the memory of his Barbiefied car and Lily chuckled. "Yes, this is Liam. Liam, I might not have mentioned that Aunt Mac is Veronica's partner in crime. If they wanted to kill you and never be caught, they could do it," Lily stated proudly.

Liam paled slightly.

Lily laughed again. "Behave and they'll have no cause to," she told him.

With that Lily led him out the back and she set to work explaining some of the Trigonometry topics to him. They worked well, and Liam focused on what Lily was saying, for which Lily was grateful.

Just as the Fennels, Echolls and Duncan and Eva arrived, Lily and Liam finished up and Lily walked Liam out to his car.

"Thanks for the help Lily. I guess I don't really deserve it, not after everything, but thanks for the chance," Liam said genuinely.

Lily smiled unreservedly at him and said, "What are friends for?"

**AN: Hope you all enjoyed that :) That's the last chapter I have finished for now, I've been pretty busy, and I have a bust next few days, plus I've had a little writer's block too. The next chapter is started, and I hope to have it up in a few days, and to be back to my schedule of posting every day soon. Thanks for reading, and as always, I love feedback, so just drop me a line in that little box below :)**


	11. Chapter 11 What a feeling

**AN: Hello, and I'm back :) Again, I'm not America, so most of my football details are a little vague and not completely realistic. I did do a little research into the structure of high school football, but this story isn't about football, so who really cares!**

Chapter 11 – What a feeling

_What a feeling, beings believin'_

Neptune High won their game the next day which meant that if they won their final game the following week they'd make it to the playoffs. The seniors were in a very good mood. Their football team was having a very good season, midterms were still a way off – too far away to worry about studying, and the 09ers were drama free, for the time being.

The Monday the week of the final match of the regular season started off as normal. Lily and her friends moaned and groaned about returning to school after the weekend, but soon settled back in and resigned themselves their fates.

At lunch Lily, Scott, Keira and Ethan were sitting together, eating and talking when Keira said, "Let's do something tonight! Something fun!"

"What, like a party?" Scott asked, mildly confused.

"No, not a party. I don't know. It's our senior year, we should do things together besides go to school and party," Keira replied.

"We could go bowling?" Lily suggested slowly.

Ethan and Scott hooted with laughter.

"No, I like it!" Keira exclaimed. "It's kind of vintage and cute. We can all go together!"

Ethan and Scott continued to laugh.

"Are you trying to take us back to the 1950s?" Ethan asked, chortling.

"It's so _Grease 2_, and we all know that was a flop!" Scott added.

"Oh we do, do we?" Lily asked, amused. "_Grease 2_? Really Scott?"

"What? My older sister made me watch it! She loved the first one, so much so that she even watched the second one heaps of times," Scott defended himself. "Besides, Michelle Pfeiffer was smoking!"

Lily socked him in the arm, and Ethan nodded in agreement.

"Who cares!" Keira exclaimed, trying to move on from the _Grease_ talk. "Actually, I care slightly. John Travolta was so hot!"

Lily grinned and sighed in, agreeing whole-heartedly.

"Anyway, so not the point," Keira finally managed. "We should go bowling. I'm sure the others will be up for it. Please?" Keira begged, batting her eyes at Ethan.

He laughed and said, "Sure. What the hell! How about it Hunter?"

"I'm in," Scott answered, kissing Lily's cheek.

"In for what?" Melanie asked, sitting down at their table, Michael in tow.

"Bowling. The girls want to do something fun tonight," Ethan explained.

Melanie squealed and said, "That would be so cute! We should dress 50s themed! Pretend we're in _Grease_ or something."

Ethan and Scott moaned in unison and Lily and Keira grinned in delight.

"Maybe not the whole poodle skirt thing," Lily said. "But I could probably cope with high waisted jeans and a leather jacket."

"I can totally go with high waisted and tight," Keira agreed.

"Let's go invite the others!" Melanie suggested.

She, Keira and Lily stood and went to ask their other friends while Scott, Michael and Ethan stayed at their table, grumbling good-naturedly over their evening's plans.

"Guys, we're going bowling!" Keira announced to a table containing Sophie, Mia, Michael, Chris, Liam and Josh.

Predictably the guys started laughing and the girls made noises of excitement.

"Mellie thinks we should dress up," Lily added to Mia and Sophie.

"Just general 50s and 60s theme, high waisted, leather, tight, floral," Keira elaborated. "Nothing too crazy like poodle skirts though."

"So, are you going to honour us with your presence boys?" Lily asked playfully. "Scott, Ethan and Michael are man enough to come," she goaded. "It'll be fun!"

"I'll be there," Liam said, giving in first, and setting the standard for his friends.

The other three boys agreed to come almost immediately, the pressure of their girlfriends, and the 09er king and queen was more than enough to see to that.

Keira, Lily and Melanie squeezed themselves onto the seats at the table, which resulted in the boys moving across to where Scott, Ethan and Michael were still sitting. The girls began to suggest ideas for what they could wear that night, usual topics of boys and cheerleading pushed aside.

The afternoon seemed to move by very slowly to the excited 09er girls. The idea of bowling had greatly appealed to them, probably due to the novelty of the activity. The daughters of the wealthiest families of Neptune usual spent their free time at society parties, or shopping for designer clothing, or at their own indulgent parties. Bowling was something more mainstream, an activity that millions of teens before them had participated in over many decades. Thinking about these factors made Lily realise that sometimes it was a good thing to take time out and do something a little different.

The girls worked hard at their practice after school, Lily worked them hard as she wanted them to be perfect for the final game before the playoffs. Similarly the football team had a hard session, they badly wanted to win their game and make it to the playoffs. They hadn't won a championship for some years, but this year they had a very good team, and a good chance of making it to the championship game.

Following training the 09ers parted ways more quickly than usual in the parking lot, going home to change before they met up again to go bowling.

Lily, Mia and Keira all arrived in the parking lot at the same time with their boyfriends. As they were standing with each other, assessing and complimenting each other's outfits, Melanie and Sophie arrived, their boyfriends in tow. Liam and Josh pulled up moments after them.

Lily was wearing a pair of tight, high waisted black jeans with a cream bodysuit and a brown leather jacket. Her friends were dressed in an assortment of high waisted skirts, jeans, and shirts. All in all they gave quite a good representation of 50s and 60s fashion, but current enough that they didn't look ridiculous. It was kind of hard to look ridiculous when your outfit was clearly entirely designer label anyway.

Scott walked up to Lily, where she was talking with her friends, whistling a tune. Lily turned to look at him sharply and said, "What are you whistling?"

"Nothing!" Scott said hurriedly.

"No, that wasn't nothing!" Lily said, trying not to laugh. "That was, 'Let's bowl', from _Grease 2_, you utter idiot!"

Scott looked embarrassed, and everyone else started laughing uproariously.

"Oh shut up you lot!" Scott eventually exclaimed.

Still laughing a little, they all went inside, their large group descending upon the front desk to get shoes.

Once they were all wearing the comfortable, yet unattractive shoes, they sorted out their teams. They took up two lanes, diving into teams of six, Lily heading one, and Liam heading the other. The 09ers were somewhat predictable in matters like that. They began their game and soon they were all quite wrapped up in the competitiveness of it, whooping and cheering when strikes were scored.

At one point during their game Lily and Liam sat down next to each other as they waited for their turns to come round again.

"Glad you came?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, you girls were right. It's actually pretty fun," Liam conceded.

Lily grinned back at him, "I'm pretty much always right."

"And you're so modest too," Liam teased.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him and he chuckled at her behaviour. Loud squealing then interrupted their conversation as Sophie finally scored a strike. Liam looked at Lily as she jumped up and hugged her friend, sharing her excitement. He realised, not for the first time, how lucky he was that she'd given him a chance for them to be friends. He then watched Scott walk up to her and place a gentle kiss on her lips, after which she sat down in his lap, her arms easily around his neck, talking animatedly with Keira. He tried not to openly grimace at the open affection and intimacy between Scott and Lily. He couldn't focus on that, he needed to try and move on, and be happy with her friendship. The only problem was, just being friends with Lily Kane made him realise how incredible she was, and that he really didn't want any other girl.

_I can have it all, now I'm dancing for my life_

Tuesday in school Lily sat in Chemistry, not really focusing on her teacher's words, but thinking over the fun they'd had the previous night. It had been fun, all going out together, and not getting drunk too. She was glad that she and Liam had managed to reach a place where they were friends, it made for a much more pleasant group atmosphere, not to mention he was actually nice when he stopped being an attention seeking jerk. Mr Murphey then called on Lily to answer a question, which ended Lily's pleasant review of the previous evening.

Later in the day, Scott and Lily were walking down the hall later during the day, their hands intertwined, when he said, "So, it was great going out with the others last night, but we haven't done anything together for a while."

"You mean, we haven't gone on a date," Lily said, her eyes bright.

"Yeah. So I think it's about time we went on one," Scott replied.

Lily nodded, smiling, waiting for him to make a suggestion.

"Well, how about we go out tomorrow night? Nothing late, but things have been so busy, with football and other stuff, so we should just make the time and go," Scott reasoned.

Lily leaned up and kissed him and said, "Sounds perfect. How about dinner and a walk on the beach?"

"Sure, sounds good. Where do you want to go?" Scott asked her.

"Surprise me!" Lily said.

"You and your surprise dates," Scott said, chuckling as he recalled her demanding a surprise for their six month anniversary. "You know, we're almost at our nine month anniversary."

"Aww Scott," Lily cooed. "You're so sensitive."

"Shut up, you," he replied playfully.

"No, you're lovely. I was being silly, but it's sweet of you to remember. So are we a couple who celebrates our anniversary in three month segments then?" Lily asked jokingly.

"Oh, I don't know," Scott said, beginning to become exasperated. "Nine months is something, special, we should celebrated something between six months and a year, and there's no way in hell we're having an anniversary every month!"

Lily giggled, "Fine with me. You're so funny when you get annoyed. I love you," she added sincerely.

Scott's mild irritation melted away, and he replied, his eyes soft, "I love you too."

After school, seeing as there was no training, Keira and Lily decided that they'd indulge in some shopping. Indulge being the appropriate word seeing as they both loved clothes and had essentially limitless funds.

"Lil, I've been thinking," Keira began, as they were browsing through shoes. "I get that you're friends with Liam now, and I think that's nice, but where are you going with it?"

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, confused.

"I mean, where are you going with it? Liam's not the kind of boy you just stay friends with, and you have a boyfriend." Keira expanded.

"Keira!" Lily exclaimed, truly shocked. "I love Scott! Why can't I just be friends with Liam? I mean really, we both know that I pretty much make the social rules around school."

"Well, yeah," Keira said slowly, "but you know he wanted more than friendship before, so why do you think that would change now?"

"I don't know, and I guess I don't care. It's his problem. As far as I'm concerned we're friends, and I'm happy with that. It's my life, and if I want it all, I'm having it all," Lily stated definitively.

"Alright," Keira replied dubiously. "You're the boss."

"Damn straight," Lily said, laughing. "Come on, too much serious talk, let's shop."

"If that's too serious, we could compare notes on sex," Keira retorted, with wicked grin.

Lily gave her a withering look and said pointedly, "Oh, I love those shoes!" She proceeded to dart off towards an non descript pair of shoes, Keira trailing after her, laughing.

Lily arrived home after shopping, and stored her new items in her closet. She then sat down to work on her homework at her desk. When Duncan and Eva arrived home, one shortly after the other, Lily moved downstairs to help Eva make dinner. Duncan sat near them, talking to them, and stealing bits of food from their preparation.

Duncan reached to take something out of the bowl of salad from the umpteenth time when Lily put down her knife, and playfully slapped her father's hand and cried, "No Daddy! No more, or there'll be no more dinner."

Evelyn chuckled, and Duncan groaned and whined, "Lily."

"Daddy, you're supposed to be the adult," Lily said with a giggle.

"Well, you're almost an adult," Duncan remarked. "Do you have any ideas about what you want to do for your birthday?"

"Not really," Lily replied. "I mean, of course I'd like to have a party with my friends, but other than that, no. You've done a good job the past few years, coming up with things, so I think I'll leave it up to you."

Duncan looked pleased, then bothered. Eva laughed at him, and Lily looked at her for an explanation.

"Well, he's happy he's done well the last few years, but now he's got all that pressure to top those years too," Eva informed her.

Comprehension dawned on Lily's face, and she giggled. She finished what she was working on at the bench, then moved around and kissed Duncan's cheek and said, "Don't worry Daddy. I'll still love you even if you get me a terrible presents, but I know you won't so it's all good!"

Duncan hugged his daughter, thinking again for the hundredth time, how lucky he was that his daughter had turned into a wonderful young lady.

_Take your passion, and make it happen_

Wednesday after cheer practice, Lily went home quickly, to shower and change into something for her date with Scott. She pulled a red, knee length Mui Mui skirt out of her closet that'd she'd bought yesterday with Keira. To wear with it she grabbed cream, three quarter sleeve Oscar de la Renta blouse and a black pair of ankle boots. She fixed her hair, leaving it out in natural waves, and attended to her make up. Just as she had picked up her purse she heard Scott's car outside, so she grabbed her black leather jacket, and slipped downstairs quickly. She kissed Eva and Duncan goodbye, who had arrived home while she was getting ready, then opened the front door, to Scott who was standing there waiting.

"You got me flowers!" Lily exclaimed, completely delighted. She kissed him soundly, and he grinned at her.

"Well, we haven't been on a date in a while, so I thought it would be nice," Scott explained.

"Nice? It's completely lovely," Lily replied, as he handed the bunch of flowers to her, a mixture of lilies, roses and other dainty little flowers.

Lily ducked back inside to give the flowers to Eva to put in water, then met Scott in his car.

"So, where are we going tonight?" Lily asked.

"You'll see," Scott answered, enjoying keeping her in suspense.

They pulled up at a popular Chinese restaurant in Neptune, The Happy Inn. Lily smiled in appreciation.

"Good choice!" Lily told Scott.

"You're pretty easy to please you know," Scott remarked. "As long as the food is good food, you'll eat just about anything happily."

"Yeah, well, I'm awesome," Lily said jokingly.

Scott chuckled, took her hand, and they made their way inside.

"I have to ask you something," Lily said, as they were eating their main course.

"Okay," Scott said, unsure of what that exactly entailed.

"Well, I'd just been wondering, if me being friends with Liam was bothering you. I know you know he came over the other day, so I could help him with homework, but we didn't exactly talk about it," Lily said.

Scott let out a laugh of relief. "Babe, I know you love me. I guess I'd be stupid if I wasn't a little weary about you spending time with another guy, particularly Liam, but I trust you. And you're always around other people with him, and again, I trust you. I'd rather you be friends with him, than having to worry about him being a dick to you all the time," Scott explained.

"Good," Lily replied, clearly relieved the conversation was going well. "I'm glad we can actually be mature about this."

Scott grinned at her, and they continued their meal.

Later that evening, they walked down the beach together, shoes left in the car, the sand between their toes. The moon was shining brightly, giving off enough light for them to see each other's faces clearly. They talked quietly to one another, Lily's lively laugh sometimes making itself heard above the crashing of the ocean waves.

"Do you think you'll win tomorrow?" Lily asked Scott.

"I think we've got a pretty good chance," Scott replied. "Liam is actually a really good quarterback, and you've seen everyone this season, we're looking good."

"I'll say you are," Lily said seductively, turning so she was standing in front of Scott, stopping him in his path, and trailing a finger down his chest.

Scott pulled her to him, and they began to kiss heatedly, fighting for dominance.

Some time later Lily stepped back a little from Scott's arms, turned around, so that her back was against his front, and his arms came to rest around her waist as she leaned back into him.

"Thank you," Lily said quietly.

"For what?" Scott asked, a little puzzled.

"For now, for tonight, for everything, for being you," Lily expanded.

In answer Scott merely tightened his arms around her and kissed her cheek tenderly.

The next day at school passed with no dramas, and ended with a long practice for both the football and cheerleading teams. The next day would either be their last game for the season, or would send them to the playoffs. They football team really wanted to make the playoffs, and if they didn't it wouldn't be for lack of training. The cheerleading team put in a hard practice, Lily wanted to make sure that if it was their last match, that they'd be in excellent form, and if it the boys won, they'd still need to be well prepared for the playoffs.

Friday at school, tensions were a little high as nearly the whole school was eager for the football team to win. Neptune High prided itself on being above other schools, or rather the 09ers tended to pride themselves on being better, but they hadn't made it to the playoffs and had a shot at the championship in several years. The boys on the football team spent most of the day becoming more and more focused on their game, and the cheerleaders were more highly strung than usual, a few petty fights erupting over nothing in particular.

Neptune had a home game, and by when game time came, most of the school had turned out to watch, along with a large number of friends and family. Lily's usual supporters were in the crowd, along with many of her friends parents. A number of the 09er adults had attended Neptune High, and they also liked to see their kids succeeding, it was something to boast about at parties. It was easy to spot the 09er supporters, they had the best seats and wore the best clothes.

The game was a close one, but in the end, it was clear with five minutes to go, that Neptune would win. In reality, those last second wins aren't as plentiful as they seem to be on television and in books.

Full time sounded, and the stands exploded with cheering and clapping, their excitement had been building all game.

The football team ran off, many of them stopping to hug their cheerleader girlfriends and friends. This time when Liam hugged Lily it was brief and not awkward, instead simple and easy, as things should be between friends.

The football team ran back out onto the field, exuberant in their victory. The cheerleaders stayed on the sideline, jumping up and down in excitement, and shaking their pompoms wildly.

The night ended with a party at an 09er house. The week had been a good one for Lily, and her friends, one filled with fun, love, and happiness, those idealistic things of life. However, everyone knows that life doesn't stay like that all the time.

**AN: Thanks for reading, please review! Also, a quick shout out to who gave Lily and Liam a ship name, LiLi! My characters have a ship name, it's easily made my month :)**


	12. Chapter 12 I won't give up

**AN: Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing, I really appreciate it :)**

Chapter 12 – I won't give up

_When I look into your eyes, it's like watching the night sky_

On Monday Lily was sitting with Scott, Keira and Ethan at lunch, eating pizza. Spirits were still riding high from the win last week before, and the 09ers walked the school with more influence than ever.

The spot where Lily was sitting was a particularly coveted one, people looked at her, envying her, her money, her looks, her friends, her boyfriend, her life. Lily was enjoying herself too much to be bothered by it however.

Keira had just dropped pizza topping down the front of her shirt and was absolutely livid. The others were just laughing at her, which only made her more angry.

"This is not funny!" Keira cried.

"But it kind of is," Lily replied with a giggle.

"Come on babe," Ethan said, trying to sound soothing, but ended up chuckling anyway. "We'll get you a jacket or something so you can cover the mark. It's not the end of the world," he told her, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek.

Keira continued to grumble and mutter under her breath, but calmed down a little.

Lily and Scott were still chortling when Liam walked past, pausing to see what was happening.

"What's going on?" he asked curiously, eyeing Keira's stained shirt and annoyed face.

"Not much," Lily said, swallowing a giggle. "Want some pizza?"

"Sure," Liam accepted, sitting down on an empty seat, and taking a slice.

He and Scott began discussing their first playoff game, they had one, and then hopefully, the championship game. Ethan joined in shortly, and Lily and Keira flitted off to sort out Keira's clothing.

When they returned Keira looked a lot cleaner and quite a lot happier. Lily as usual looked vivacious, her smile bright, her eyes merry. They sat back down at the table and attempted to listen to get the boys attention, but they were far too focused on their football talk. Lily looked at Keira in amusement, then a look of mischief flashed across her face.

She moved from her seat next to Scott and squeezed onto the seat next to Keira, grinned cheekily and began, "You know, I'm thinking about becoming a porn star."

Keira smothered a giggle and replied, "Not a bad plan. You're hot, so it could work. I'm thinking of streaking right before the end of lunch tomorrow."

"Sounds fun! Maybe I'll come too. Actually, you know what sounds fun? We should get something tattooed, or pierced," Lily suggested in a completely serious voice, her twinkling eyes betraying her.

By the time all three boys had managed to stop their talking and were staring at them, open mouthed.

"Is something the matter?" Lily asked innocently.

"Can we help you?" Keira questioned, amused.

All three boys just looked dumbstruck.

"Well, that worked well I'd say," Lily said cheerfully to Keira.

"Pretty much," Keira agreed.

"What worked?" Scott asked, confused.

"Oh nothing much," Lily said airily. "But now, we have your attention, so let's go with that."

Keira and Lily had a game they liked to play when they wanted their boyfriends' attention and they were focusing on other things. They would say outrageous things loudly enough for them to hear, generally involving sex, or things along that line, for instance, being naked. Then they would wait until these little key words triggered in the boys' brains and wait for a response. It worked every time without fail, and the boys had yet to figure out the girls' system.

Lunch ended soon after and Liam and Lily walked off to Trig together, the other three going their own classes.

As Lily and Liam were walking together, and he was talking to her.

"Great, my favourite part of the day!" Liam said sarcastically. "Well, it's not so bad actually, seeing as it's our only class together."

Lily looked at him as he spoke to her, suddenly caught by his mid length dark brown hair, his strong jaw line and lightly tanned skin, even though winter was just around the corner. She didn't have to look any further at him to know that he had broad shoulders, and was well muscled.

Liam was still talking, and Lily looked up at him, he being about a head taller than her. She looked right into his eyes, mesmerised by their dark blue colour. Liam stopped talking, realising that Lily was no longer listening, but looking at him intently. He returned her gaze, light blue eyes meeting dark blue eyes. Lily broke their connection, feeling awkward all of a sudden. The had reached the doorway of their classroom, and were just standing there, still silent.

Lily tried to think clearly and snap out of her unusual behaviour, but was having trouble as she was still too focused on Liam's eyes.

Melanie chose that moment to arrive at the classroom and said cheerfully, "Come on you two! You'd better get inside or Mr Corke will be here and he won't be happy to find you here."

That successfully broke the moment between Liam and Lily and they took their seats. Melanie sat on one side of Lily, Liam on the other, as had been their habit since Lily and Liam became friends.

Liam grinned naturally at Lily and all seemed to be normal between them again, but Lily still had trouble not getting lost in his eyes whenever she looked at him.

At the end of the day, following practice, Lily met Scott in the parking lot and gave him a long kiss, then stared into his warm hazel eyes.

"Hey," she quietly to him, after breaking the look. "Good practice?"

"Yeah, coach thinks we're looking good for the game, and we've got almost two weeks to get everything right," Scott replied.

Lily looked at him as he spoke, working hard to pay attention, and willing his eyes not to morph into dark blue ones. She mentally shook herself, knowing it wasn't supposed to be like this. Her boyfriend's eyes shouldn't be changing into another guy's and she shouldn't have to work hard to stay focused, but if she had to she would.

_I won't give up on us, even if the skies get rough_

Tuesday morning Scott and Lily were talking in the parking lot just after they'd both arrived at school.

"So," Scott began. "No practice this afternoon, no parents at my place or yours…"

"I like were you're going with this," Lily said flirtatiously. "Please, tell me more!"

"Well, I was thinking, we could spend some quality time with your bed, or your couch, or your shower, whatever really," Scott said suggestively.

Lily pretended to be shocked, "Why Scott Hunter! You aren't trying to take advantage of me in risqué places are you?"

Scott grinned roguishly at her and she laughed.

"Come on, let's head in," Lily said. "And I think my place after school sounds great."

Lily's day began fairly smoothly, her first few classes were fine, and when lunch came Liam sat with Josh and a few other guys from the football team. Lily sat with Scott, Mia, Jim, Sophie and Chris.

"So she came down stairs, wearing this tiny, tight black leather dress," Mia told them all. "She's twelve years old, and Mom and Dad let her go shopping with her friends and a credit card and she came home with that. It wasn't like I didn't warn them though."

The others all laughed at Mia's story, then quickly sobered up imaging what it would be like if they had a little sister who appeared wearing that.

"Okay, yeah, not so funny," Sophie said, voicing everyone's thought. "I'm glad I only have a younger brother."

"Well having an older sister is pretty much as bad as having a little one," Scott remarked. "You still have to protect them, but they want it even less because they're older."

"Yeah, well I have an older sister and a younger sister, it's absolute hell keeping an eye on them!" Jim added.

Lily sat by silently, listening, but not saying anything herself. She knew her friends had families and siblings, and that was great and she was happy for them, but talking about things they did as siblings just made her wish she had her own siblings. She knew it was early days yet for Duncan and Eva to think about kids, but if they waited too much longer it would they'd miss the boat. Lily badly wanted a little brother or sister, or both. She loved Aubrey, Caroline and Justin, and she'd love Mac and Dick's new baby, but it would be different having siblings.

Lily had zoned out of the conversation, thinking busily about her hopes for having siblings and didn't notice that she was being spoken to. Scott poked Lily lightly and she jumped slightly.

"Sorry, what?" Lily asked dumbly.

"Mia was talking to you babe," Scott said.

"Oh, sorry, I zoned out," Lily said sheepishly.

"Don't worry. I was just suggesting a girls night for this Friday," Mia replied. "We don't have a game and there's no party planned, and we haven't had a sleepover in ages!"

"Sounds great," Lily enthused, her previous saddening thoughts forgotten. Sophie gave a little squeal of excitement as well, showing her agreement.

"Where should we have it?" Sophie asked eagerly.

"Maybe at Mellie's," Lily suggested. "I have Trig with her next, so I'll talk to her about it."

Thinking of Trigonometry and Melanie only reminded Lily of Liam. She forced herself not to think about him, his eyes, his smile, their now easy friendship, and instead animatedly discussed plans for their sleepover.

However it was hard to not think about him when she saw him in their Trig class, and it was hard not to smile at him, in an almost foolishly. She checked herself though, beginning an internal war with herself. She had a boyfriend who she loved very much, and she wasn't interested in Liam that way, at least, not logically. Some irritating part of her subconscious however seemed insistent on focusing on him. She liked Liam just fine, as a friend, and she loved Scott a lot as her boyfriend, so she was just going to have to push down any bizarre and undesired new feelings towards Liam. She was sure that if she did that, they'd subside into nothing quickly enough.

Therefore Lily tried her best to stay natural, to smile and talk normally with Liam as they waited in their classroom.

She turned to Melanie after talking briefly to Liam and said, "Mellie, at lunch we thought we'd have a sleepover this Friday. You up for it to be at your house?"

"Sure! Sounds great," Melanie replied. "It's been ages since we had a girl's night."

Liam chuckled.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Oh nothing, just imagining what you girls get up to," Liam replied, doing his best to smother a smirk. "Painting your nails, braiding each other's hair, talking about guys and shit."

"Yeah, well even if that's what we did, you wouldn't be hearing about it," Lily retorted smartly. "That's why it's called a girl's night!"

"And anyway, we know what you do on your boy's nights," Melanie added. "Beer, video games, comparing sex lives. You keep going that way and you're going to get fat, then you'll be reminiscing about how great your lives use to be!"

Lily sniggered and Liam looked unperturbed. "Sometime Mel, we even watch sport on TV! Or, if we're feeling super adventurous we even go surfing, or throw a football around," Liam returned.

All three of them then laughed. "Oh well, we need our girl's nights and boy's nights," Lily said reasonably. "I think it's probably for the best that we keep our activities to ourselves!"

Liam and Melanie nodded in agreement, then their teacher called for silence and they began their lesson. Melanie sat there trying to look like she was paying attention, Liam looked bored, then confused, then frustrated. Lily looked serene and followed the work easily, glad to have something to focus on instead of thinking about Liam and Scott.

_I don't want to be someone who walks away so easily, I'm here to stay and make the difference I can make_

After school on Tuesday Lily and Scott went back to her house, dropping their things near the front door, then making their way quickly up Lily's room.

"What, no shower sex?" Scott asked jokingly as he pushed her onto her bed.

"Not now," Lily replied impishly, pulling his head down to hers and kissing him.

Scott returned her kiss eagerly, his strong hands making quick work of her jacket and shirt. They were thrown to the floor leaving Lily on the bed in her jeans and a dainty pastel pink bra.

Scott kissed her neck and said to her, his breathing already a little laboured, "You know, I love the sexy lacy things, but there's something particularly hot about you in pink."

Lily giggled and kissed him back. She then moved around so that she was in a position to take Scott's shirt off, and it soon joined her clothes on the floor. She looked back at his face and saw dark blue eyes. She almost caught her breath and had to work not to literally shake her head to clear Liam's eyes from her mind. She kissed Scott trying to cover her slightly odd moment, and hoped he hadn't noticed anything. He appeared not to have and they continued to kiss heatedly. Lily focused on Scott, on his eyes, his jaw line, the contours of his lips. She kissed him, enjoying the feeling of his lips on hers, focusing solely on the two of them, his skin on hers.

Soon Scott removed her jeans, leaving her only in her panties and bra, and she in turn removed his pants.

They looked at each other's nearly naked forms, desire apparent in the eyes and bodies. Soon they were both naked and revelling in the closest form of intimacy.

As they lay wrapped in each other's arms afterwards, breathing heavily, Scott kissed Lily's forehead gently and said, "I love you."

She smiled sweetly and replied, "I love you too, so much."

She did love Scott a lot, and lying there with him in moments like that made her realise full that there was no way she would just throw away their relationship because she felt fleeting things for Liam. Seeing his face while she was making out with Scott, right before sex, was not a good thing though. It wasn't deliberate, it just happened, and she'd have to see that it didn't anymore.

Lily moved a little in Scott's arms so that she could see his face and said, "You know, I'm feeling kind of sweaty. I think I might take a shower."

With that she slipped out from under the sheets and walked towards her bathroom, swaying her hips invitingly. Scott jumped out of the bed and followed her in hot pursuit, reaching her just as she stepped into the shower, pinning her against the wall with a searing kiss.

Wednesday passed in a normal manner, for which Lily was grateful. She had no strange Liam and Scott moments, and there was no drama with anyone. Actually there was a slight incident, but it was at cheer practice, and was between Olivia and Mia, Olivia being Liam's slutty date from Homecoming.

At the beginning of practice the girls had been doing warm up stretches. They were in plain view of the football team, as the weather was beautiful, so they took the chance to have their session outside. Olivia was performing her stretches as suggestively as possible, and Mia suddenly flew off the handle. She pulled out of her stretch, walked over to Olivia and slapped her across the face.

"What was that for, you bitch!" Olivia cried angrily.

"Oh don't play dumb with me, you whore," Mia retorted, enraged.

The entire team stopped what they were doing and crowded around, wanting to know what the fuss was about.

"I have no idea what you're on about," Olivia insisted.

"There's no point in lying to me!" Mia exclaimed. "I've seen the way you've been all over him these last few weeks. I didn't care about that really, everyone knows you're a slut, a Jim loves me."

Olivia had started to look a little concerned by this point, but stood her ground, looking disdainfully at Mia.

"You know, I had Jim's cell at lunch today," Mia continued, her voice now ice cool. "If you're going to send naked pictures to my boyfriend, it's probably not a good idea to do it when I might have his cell. In saying that, don't you ever, ever send dirty pictures to my boyfriend, or you won't be doing anymore handsprings for a long time," Mia finished threateningly.

Lily had been monitoring the interaction carefully, the girls being her responsibility. She was firmly on Mia's side, regardless of the fact that she was her friend, seeing as it was obvious that Olivia was in the wrong. However when Olivia grabbed Mia's braid as she turned to walk away following their little chat, Lily knew it was time to intervene.

"That's enough!" Lily yelled commandingly.

By this point the football practice had stopped, and the boys were looking on in great interest.

Jim had started to move across the field, realising what was going on, due to the fact that Mia and Olivia were the ones involved in the fight. Scott and Liam both moved to follow him, in case their help was needed. Lily noticed the three boys approaching and waved them away quickly. She did not need them right now, not with a bunch of highly strung cheerleaders.

"Olivia, practice is over for you today," Lily said. "If you pull anything like that again you'll be on probation."

Olivia shot her a filthy looked and stalked off.

"Mia, I'm afraid the same goes for you," Lily told her friend more gently. "I know she did the wrong thing, but you shouldn't have slapped her like that. It's not the right way to deal with people like that."

Mia nodded in acceptance, and left the field too.

Lily then turned to the rest of the girls. "If any of you pull anything like that, the same will go for you," Lily informed them. "You should all know that by now anyway! If you have an issue with someone else on the team, come to me first, please. Now, we're going to try and finish our practice session properly."

At the Thursday night dinner Lily retold the story, earning peals of laughter from Veronica and Amanda, and chuckles from Mac and Eva.

Mac looked at Caroline and said to her, "If you have to become a cheerleader, you're going to be a nice one, like Aunt Lily."

The others laughed at Mac's serious face.

"Yeah, you don't want her ending up like her darling Aunt Madison," Veronica added teasingly.

"I'm so glad Madison skips most family dinners," Mac remarked, relief clear in her tone.

"How's the baby?" Amanda asked.

"Kicking quite a bit now," Mac answered. "I'm getting more excited about meeting him or her. Dick really wants to know what we're having, but I'm sticking to our original decision to keep it a surprise again."

"Are you and Uncle Wallace thinking of having another baby soon?" Lily asked eagerly.

"We'd be happy if we did any time from now really," Amanda shared. "No news to tell yet though."

The conversation fell to baby talk quickly, the topic being a favourite among all the women present.

When Dick appeared in the room ten minutes later, in search of food, he caught a snippet of their girly chat and fled.

**AN: Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know what you think :)**


	13. Chapter 13 Don't let me stop you

**AN: Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing :)**

Chapter 13 – Don't let me stop you

_I couldn't help but notice, the last time you kissed me, you kept both eyes open…Can you tell me what does that mean_

The next Monday at lunch found Lily, Sophie, Mia, Melanie and Keira sitting at a table together, eating Mexican food, talking and laughing.

Scott, Ethan and Michael walked up to the table, and moved to fit themselves onto the table.

"No, not today," Lily instructed them cheerfully, waving her hand at them as if to shoo them away.

"What?" Ethan asked incredulously.

"Go sit with the boys somewhere else sweetie," Keira told him.

"Why?" Michael asked, conveying his confusion.

"We're having girl time at lunch today," Sophie answered, as if it was obvious.

The three boys still looked confused.

"You see, we had so much fun on Friday night, and we realised that we haven't spent enough time together, just us girls. We're always with you boys," Melanie stated in explanation.

"Not that we don't like you or anything," Mia added playfully. "We just want more girl time."

"You have girl time, heaps of it," Scott protested. "You see each other all the time, and you have cheer practice…"

"It's one lunch, you'll be fine," Lily informed them. "Go do boys stuff. We'll see you later!"

The boys walked off in defeat, but their spirits picked up when they noticed the large piles of pizza on the table that Liam, Jim, Josh and Chris were sitting at.

"Boys," Sophie said, giggling a little. "They so hard to understand sometimes!"

"Who cares for now?" Melanie asked lightly. "How funny did Mia look the other night in that outfit of my mom's from the 80s?"

The other girls all giggled, remembering Friday night at the Wheeler's.

**Flashback**

Friday night found the girl's at Melanie's house. They had set up all their things in the entertainment room. It was set up for them with the couches pushed to the sides of the room and mattresses littered the floor, accompanied by pillows and rugs. The large plasma was mounted on the wall, ready for use whenever the girls wanted, but for the mean time they were lying about talking, laughing and eating. They had a supply of junk food on hand and they were enjoying indulging themselves. They were all wearing pyjamas for the sake of their comfort.

"How about we play truth or dare?" Sophie suggested.

"Yes, we haven't played that in so long!" Mia agreed.

"Yeah, because we're not in middle school anymore," Lily said dryly.

"Don't be stupid Lil," Keira said to her. "It'll be fun!"

"Fine, but I'm making a rule! Anything that gets said tonight never leaves this room, or house at the very least!" Lily stated firmly, a smile gracing her features now though.

"Okay, I'm going first!" Melanie exclaimed. "Sophie, truth or dare?

"Truth," Sophie answered warily.

"Where's the strangest place you and Chris have had sex?" Melanie asked, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Clever, not asking if we've had sex, but skipping right to the good stuff," Sophie remarked.

"Come on, no side stepping, tell us," Melanie commanded.

"Probably the guys locker room," Sophie admitted.

"Sophie!" Mia squealed in delight. "Anyone could have walked in!"

"Not really, it was after everyone had pretty much left for the day," Sophie replied. "Now, my turn. Keira, truth or dare?"

"Dare!" Keira replied, her eyes challenging Sophie to make it a good one.

"Okay, I dare you to jump into the pool, naked, right now," Sophie stated, grinning, quite pleased with her idea.

"Sophie, it's practically winter!" Keira protested.

"Fine, you can keep your underwear on," Sophie allowed.

Keira nodded in acceptance.

The girls followed her out to the pool and giggled as they watched her jump in, then re-emerged, dripping wet and freezing cold.

"You can use my shower," Melanie offered, observing Keira's shivering form.

Keira moved quickly upstairs towards Melanie's bathroom and the girls followed after her.

When she got out of the shower, warm, and redressed she found her friend's in Melanie's closet and in her room, dressed in the oddest assortment of clothes.

Lily was wearing a green feather boa with a purple bodysuit and was skipping around to the music coming from Melanie's stereo. Mia was outfitted in a red fringe dress and long satin gloves and was jumping on Melanie's bed with Melanie. Melanie was wearing gold hot pants and a woollen jumper with knee high socks. Sophie had on a pair of fluoro orange leggings with a glittering pink jumpsuit and red suspenders over the top, and she was dancing with Lily.

"What the hell is going on here?" Keira asked in amusement. "I guess truth or dare is over now!"

"Turns out Mellie's mom has the best collection of old clothes and costumes, ever!" Sophie exclaimed with a laugh.

"Right," Keira said slowly, a grin spreading across her face. "Let me at them! I haven't played a good game of dress ups in a very long time."

The girls ran off down the hall, changing their outfits for more outrageous items. Mia appeared looking somewhere between Madonna and Olivia Newton-John from her _Physical_ music video.

The girls squealed in laughter at her, and returned to finding their own outfits.

Following that they applied ridiculous make up and crazy hairstyles, before settling down in front of the TV, looking normal once more in their pyjamas.

"Wait, I want my turn to ask something for truth or dare," Keira suddenly remarked, just before they were about to start their movie.

"Seems fair," Mia agreed.

"Okay. So, Lily, truth or dare?" Keira asked.

"Truth," Lily answered, having no desire to perform some crazy stunt.

"If you could kiss someone who wasn't your boyfriend, just once, and have no consequences, who would it be?" Keira asked.

"Taylor Lautner," Lily eventually said, her eyes twinkling.

"But you don't know him!" Keira said in exasperation.

"True, but I could probably meet him if I wanted, Uncle Logan is pretty useful like that," Lily retorted. "Besides, if you wanted me to pick from people I know, you should have said so."

Keira grumbled good-naturedly and the girls started their movie. Lily knew what Keira had been angling at when she asked her that question, and even though Lily hadn't give the answer Keira wanted, it had made her think about it. She knew that if she could kiss Liam just once, without any consequences, she would.

**End flashback**

Lunch ended, the girls moved off, most of the finding their boyfriends and walking with them to class. Lily found Scott and they moved off so that he could walk her to Trigonometry.

Lily and Scott walked down the hall together, and they stopped just near the door of her classroom. Scott leaned down and kissed her goodbye, but Lily wasn't paying attention. She could hear Liam's voice nearby, walking towards the classroom with a football teammate.

"Lily?" Scott said in confusion when she didn't return his kiss.

"Oh, I'm sorry babe! I totally spaced, I was thinking about something else," Lily said guiltily. She reached up and kissed him quickly, then moved off into her classroom.

Scott stared after her mystified, then he noticed Liam enter the classroom just after her, and it made him stop and think for a moment. He quickly dismissed his line of thought, choosing to believe the best of his girlfriend.

_Can you tell me what does that mean…Then you don't need to be with me, and I don't need to hold on_

Lily and Liam walked out of their Trig class on Monday together, talking animatedly.

"I can't believe the assignment he's set us!" Liam grumbled.

"Don't worry about it," Lily said soothingly. "It will be easy enough."

"Good thing he partnered me with you at least," Liam remarked.

"Exactly, and we'll get really good marks and you'll pass Trig really well," Lily replied.

"I still can't believe we have to pick something we've learned this year and give a presentation on it," Liam moaned.

"Suck it up!" Lily said, laughing.

"Fine, fine," Liam acquiesced, cheering up in the knowledge that the assignment would give him a chance to spend more time with Lily.

"Hey, I can see Scott, I'm going to go meet him, but I'll talk to you later to sort out when we'll work on this," Lily told him. She smiled at him in farewell, then flitted over to Scott.

Scott had been watching his girlfriend and Liam talk, he noticed nothing suspicious in their body language, they weren't particularly tactile. He still didn't really like the way Lily's eyes lit up when she talked to him though, and he didn't like the way Liam smiled at Lily. He shook his feelings off, deciding he was turning into a stupid jealous boyfriend, and eagerly accepted Lily's greeting kiss.

They walked off together toward their next class.

After school there was practice as usual, the first playoff game set for the Friday of that week.

In the parking lot after practice Lily was talking with Keira and Ethan when Scott approached her and said, "I'm going to head off now. Are coming?"

"Okay, and no, I've got to talk to Liam first about an assignment for Trig," Lily told him. "I'll call you later tonight," and with that she kissed his cheek and wandered off in the direction of Liam, leaving Scott to make his way home.

"Hey," Lily said to Liam to get his attention. "Hi guys," she added, addressing Michael and Jim who were standing with him.

"Hey Lily," they said in unison. Then Jim said to Liam, "I'm going to head off. I think Mia's ready to go."

Michael left as well with a, "See you later dude."

"They know they don't have to leave, right?" Lily asked Liam.

"Of course. I think they just had things to do Lil," Liam replied, unconcerned. "What's up?"

"We need to sort out when to do our assignment," Lily informed him.

"Oh, right, fun," Liam said unenthusiastically.

"Cheer up, it could be fun. I'm heaps of fun," Lily returned, grinning. "Anyway sulky, the assignment is due Friday, so at least we don't have to worry about doing it while we're off for Thanksgiving. Plus it'll be over and done with before the big game."

"Right, so I guess we should start it tomorrow then, get most of it done after school when we don't have practice," Liam said logically.

"I agree. Your place or mine?" Lily asked.

Liam thought quickly, he knew no one would be at her house, and that it was unlikely that anyone would be at his house either. He didn't know which to suggest because he didn't want to make it sound like he was angling to be alone with her.

"I'm not sure," Liam said slowly. "There probably won't be anyone at my house, except for the maid."

"Well, there won't be anyone at my house for sure," Lily replied. "Your place will be fine, I'll just come over straight after school."

With that their plans were made and they both went their own ways.

On her way home Lily stopped at the Echolls' to see Veronica and Aubrey, and found Mac and Amanda there with Caroline and Justin.

"Hey everyone," Lily greeted them. "Did you guys arrange a play date and forget to invite me?" Lily asked playfully.

"Hey sweetie," Veronica said cheerfully. "Wasn't planned, or we would've invited you. Mac and Amanda just dropped in unexpectedly."

Lily grabbed a cookie off the table and sat down on the lounge next to Mac, and picked up Caroline who toddled across the room to her. At eighteen months Caroline still had light blonde hair and bright blue eyes, it was already and accepted fact that she was going to be stunning.

Veronica was sitting across from Lily, holding Aubrey. Aubrey was still blonde like her mother, in fact she looked a lot like Veronica, but had surprised everyone when he eyes had gone from blue to Logan's chocolate brown ones. Justin was playing on a mat with some toys, he was a happy, brown boy and looked a lot like Wallace would have at that age.

The adults sat around discussing their days and plans for Thanksgiving, with Lily listening and chiming in from time to time, just enjoying the calm after a busy day at school.

On Tuesday after school Lily went to Liam's as arranged. She kissed Scott goodbye in the parking lot, promising to call him after she was finished.

Liam and Lily worked well for a couple of hours, essentially finishing their assignment. Lily promised to finalise the last few touches on her own and said goodbye to Liam, absentmindedly giving a quick hug in parting.

At her home later in the evening, Lily called Scott to talk to him before she went to bed.

"Hey Scott," Lily greeted cheerfully.

"Hi gorgeous," Scott returned. "How was your afternoon? No fighting?" Scott asked, in an almost hopeful voice.

"It was fine, we got the assignment pretty well done, and no, no fighting," Lily answered with a smile.

"Oh, good," Scott replied a little lamely.

"Scott?" Lily said, her voice slightly tentative. "You said you were fine with us being partnered for the assignment. You're still alright with it, aren't you?"

"Of course I am," Scott answered. "Sorry if I sounded strange, I'm just tired. It's been a long season with football I guess, and you know the big game is this Friday."

"Of course," Lily replied understandingly. "You've worked really hard. You'll get a bit of a break over Thanksgiving, then once you guys win the championship you'll get a bit of a break."

"Lily," Scott said slowly, "I'm going to miss our nine month anniversary. I know I brought it up before and I had began to make plans for it, but we're going to my Nan's for Thanksgiving."

"That's alright, I understand, it's family stuff. We'll do something to make up for it," Lily replied calmly. "I'll miss you while you're away you know."

"Will you?" Scott muttered quietly.

"I couldn't quite hear you babe," Lily said, jolting him out of his brooding moment.

"I just I'll miss you too," Scott covered, for he would miss her, that wasn't the problem after all. "Anyway, I'm going to get some sleep, I'll see you tomorrow. Night Lily."

"Good idea, sleep well Scott," Lily said gently.

Scott paused, waiting for her to say "I love you," but she didn't. He sighed quietly and decided not to be childish about it and said, "I love you."

"I love you too," Lily returned. They both hung up and Lily was in bed before too much longer.

_I'm not down to share you with anyone_

Friday came, game day, and the day Lily and Liam's assignment was due. At lunch time the school was practically buzzing with excitement. The game was a home one, Neptune being in the top two teams. Most of the school intended to go and watch the game and nearly everyone was talking about who would win.

The 09ers were situated at their usual tables, Lily sitting with Scott, Keira, Ethan, Liam, Mia and Jim. Like the rest of Neptune High, they were discussing the game. The girls were going over their last minute plans for their routines and how to wear their hair. The guys had been working themselves up in preparation for their game, and talking through several plays that they'd been working on.

Lily checked her phone and noticed the time and said to Liam, "Hey, we should go now. If we get to class five minutes early we can run through our presentation one more time."

Thursday after practice Lily and Liam had met and gone over their presentation thoroughly, Lily explaining the last few adjustments she'd made after their session on Tuesday. Scott had been a little less than pleased to watch them make arrangements to meet up on Thursday afternoon, but he hadn't said anything. Making his jealousy known would only cause trouble, and probably make him look stupid.

Liam stood and said, "Okay Lil. See you in the locker room boys. See you at the game Keira and Mia."

Lily waved at everyone, and the 09er king and queen walked off together. Keira looked at Scott's face and looked concerned. It looked like the drama free time was about to come to an end, one way or another.

"Now, you remember the parts you have to explain?" Lily asked Liam as they walked.

"Yes Miss Kane," Liam impertinently replied.

"Liam!" Lily said reprimanding, giving him a little shove. "I know you're game today is important, but so is this. You need good grades to go to college, as well as doing well on the field."

"I know," Liam said quietly. "I guess I'm just nervous, about now and the game."

"Why?" Lily asked, a little puzzled. "You're Liam Armistead, you can do no wrong here."

"Yeah, but if I do, then I'll be an idiot. I'm not super smart like you, and I don't want to look like an idiot in front of the class," Liam explained. "Then for the game, all those guys rely on me. I'm the quarterback, whether we win or not pretty much comes down to me. It's kind of a lot of responsibility."

"Listen to you, all serious," Lily teased gently, trying to ease his nerves. "You're going to be fine, you always are. Don't worry about the Trig thing, I'll cover for you if it comes down to that. And you're being an idiot about the game, I've seen you play every game this season, you've got nothing to worry about."

Liam grinned gratefully back at her, and then they quickly ran through their presentation.

Mainly thanks to Lily their assignment went off without a hitch, though Liam did his part by actually focusing and putting in some effort. He hadn't wanted to let Lily down on the assignment, and he didn't want to disappoint her by having a low GPA or showing little ambition for college.

With their Trigonometry class out of the way, Lily and Liam were free to focus solely on the game, as essentially everyone else was.

When it came time for the cheerleaders to go onto the field for the pre-game entertainment they looked pretty and perky. Their music began and the went right into a perfectly executed routine.

The it was time for both teams to take to the field for their warm up time. The cheerleaders moved to the sidelines, performing their planned cheers and routines.

During the first half of the game the teams appeared evenly matched, and the full crowd watched closely in anticipation.

At half time the cheerleaders performed their half time entertainment routines, and then it was time for the second half. The Neptune High team looked a little better off than their opponents, who seemed a little more tired.

Soon Neptune pulled away from them and it was clear that they would win the game. The Neptune supporters were loud and very enthusiastic from that point on, and the girl performed their cheers with extra energy.

When the game came to an end all the Neptune supporters let go with loud cheers and lots of clapping. In usual post game form the football team hugged and high-fived one another, then ran off to the side to join the cheerleaders' celebrations.

Liam was the first person Lily saw and he swept her up into a big hug, spinning her around. She laughed happily and yelled, "You did it! I told you that you would!"

Liam set her down on the ground and she looked back at him, her eyes sparkling and full of life. He grinned at her affectionately and then Scott appeared at Lily's side.

He had watched their interaction and had observed the way they were looking at one another.

"We need to talk," Scott said to Lily seriously.

Lily quickly turned her attention from Liam to Scott and noticed that her boyfriend's face was thunderous, an expression that was not common for him.

"What going on?" Lily asked him, Liam still standing there listening.

"Can you leave us Armistead?" Scott said to Liam in irritation, "This isn't your conversation."

Liam looked and Lily and she nodded her head, so Liam walked off to continue the celebrations.

Scott pulled Lily off to the side so that they could talk in more privacy.

"What's wrong Scott?" Lily asked.

"You even have to ask?" Scott scoffed. "What's going on with you two? With us? I see the way you look at him. The way you two hugged was not just friendly."

"Scott!" Lily exclaimed aghast.

"What? You're going to tell me it's not like that?" Scott asked angrily.

"Even if it looks like that, it isn't!" Lily cried.

"Do you even want to be with me anymore?" Scott asked flatly.

"Scott Hunter! I'm with you because I love you, and I thought you loved me, but if this is what you're feeling, and have been feeling, then we've clearly got some problems," Lily replied.

"Oh God, Lily," Scott said exhaustedly. "What the hell are we doing?"

"Having a stupid fight," Lily answered shakily.

"I'm so sorry Lil, I should've talked to you ages ago, before I got so angry. I just tried to ignore what I was feeling and it built up to this," Scott explained.

"I'm sorry too, that I made you feel that way," Lily replied. "How about we move on? We should be celebrating!"

Scott pulled Lily into his arms for a tight hug, then they shared a gently kiss. They then joined hands and walked back towards the rest of their friends to rejoin the festivities.

**AN: Thanks for reading, please review :)**


	14. Chapter 14 Never let me go

**AN: Hi everyone, thanks for reading and reviewing :) Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Chapter 14 – Never let me go

_And it's breaking over me, a thousand miles down to the sea…All this devotion was rushing out of me_

Lily spent Thanksgiving in Neptune, spending time with her dad and Eva, her Kane grandparents (she never saw her maternal grandparents, they had only gone from bad to worse following Meg's death, and had eventually left Neptune). She also spent time with the Echolls, Casablancas and Fennels, they all got together over the Thanksgiving break.

Things with Scott had been a little strained and awkward following their fight, but they were both focused on repairing things and were working hard to make things right.

Lily went to the Echolls' the morning of the day that everyone was going there for lunch. Lily went early to help Veronica, and so that she could talk to her about what had been happening between her and Scott.

"Aunt Veronica," Lily began, "I wanted to talk to you about a few things. Scott and I had a fight, and yeah."

"Okay, why don't you tell me about it," Veronica said as she worked on the lunch.

Lily was sitting at the bench, cuddling Aubrey. "Well we had a fight last Friday, right after the game. Scott kind of blew up because he saw Liam and I hugging. We were hiding or anything, or doing anything wrong, he just hugged me while we were all excited. Anyway, in the end Scott essentially told me that he was jealous, and that he'd be letting my friendship with Liam bother him. He kept telling me was fine with it, when he wasn't."

"That's normal for a guy to be jealous, and it's normal for him to not tell you for a while," Veronica replied. "What happened after that?"

"He asked if I still wanted to be with him, I told him that of course I did, he said sorry, and we made up. I also said sorry for making him feel like that," Lily said.

"Well, that's good then isn't it?" Veronica asked.

"Sort of," Lily said slowly. "The problem is that that isn't the whole story. I still want to be with Scott, and Liam and I are only friends, but lately I sometimes think I feel something more for him than friendship." Seeing the look on Veronica's face Lily quickly said, "I'm not cheating on him! I just spend too much time thinking about him I guess. I still want to be with Scott, I still love him, I just, I guess I'm all confused."

"Oh sweetie I'm not the best person to talk to when it comes to love triangles," Veronica said wryly. "The best advice I can give you is to really think about what you're feeling. If you think you're beginning to care to much for Liam, then maybe you're not in love with Scott anymore. I know you still love him, but being in love and loving someone are two different things. Just think about it, okay? Everything will turn out, you're still young, don't worry too much."

"Thanks Aunt Ronica," Lily said quietly, clearly deep in thought. "I think I'll just take a little walk down the beach if that's okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Just put Aubrey in her rocker and leave her with Uncle Logan," Veronica answered.

Lily left Aubrey with Logan, grabbed her jacket and walked out onto the beach and down towards the waves. She set herself down in the sand and stared out to the horizon, but hardly saw anything, she was too focused on her thoughts.

She knew she still loved Scott, but what Veronica had said really bothered her. Was she still in love with him? She knew she wasn't in love with Liam, but there was something more than friendship there. She didn't want to just throw away her relationship with Scott because she felt something for Liam, not when she still cared about Scott. She was committed to trying to fix things, but she was unsure of how to manage her friendship with Liam. She couldn't let him know anything was up, that would just lead to more complication, and it wouldn't be fair on any of them.

Lily's head started to spin from all the thoughts running through her mind. She massaged her temples tiredly, deciding that sometimes love, and growing up, was a real pain in the ass.

The got up from the sand, brushed herself off, and trudged back up to the house where she found that Mac, Dick, and Caroline had arrived.

"Carrie!" Lily cried, picking the little girl up and swinging her around. She then kissed both Dick and Mac on the cheek in greeting.

"Lil!" Caroline squealed, clapping her hands in delight. "Lil" sounded more like "Weel" coming from Caroline's lips.

Lily laughed at Caroline, her spirits lifting just by being with the happy toddler.

Veronica heard Lily's laugh and watched her take Caroline away to play with her and was relived. She had been a little worried about how worn and worried Lily had looked during and following their chat, and especially when she walked through the kitchen upon her return from the beach.

The day ended up being one filled with love and happiness, and plenty of food. Veronica liked to eat, and a lot, so as a wife and hostess she had learned to cook and provide a lot of food.

Veronica watched Lily sitting with Dick and Logan, teasing them about their daughters one day growing up, and watching them pale considerably. Lily's face was bright again, and after keeping a close eye on her most of the day, Veronica was sure that she was going to be alright. She was strong and smart and Veronica had no doubt that she would figure things out.

_And the crashes are heaven for a sinner like me, but the arms of the ocean delivered me_

Lily, and everyone else, returned to school after the Thanksgiving break, eager for the upcoming championship game, but looking forward to winter break owing to the brief taste of freedom they'd had over Thanksgiving.

Lily hadn't had a chance to see Scott before they went back to school as he only returned from his Nan's the night before the end of their break.

She met him in the parking lot with a hug and a kiss. They smiled gently at one another, then made their way into school together.

"I missed you," Scott said to her.

"I missed you too," Lily replied honestly, but guilt gnawed at her stomach because she knew that she wasn't telling him everything. "Did you have fun?"

"Oh, it was alright. It's nice to see my grandparents and cousins, but by the end of the holiday I was about ready to strangle several of my cousins," Scott replied, chuckling.

"Sounds fun," Lily said, a little wistfully.

"I'm sorry babe, I didn't mean to be insensitive," Scott apologised quickly.

"No, no, I was just being silly. I love my family, and our family friends. We had a great time over Thanksgiving," Lily replied, smiling. "So, next week is the big game, how're you feeling?"

"I don't know," Scott answered. "I don't know how to feel, at the moment it just kind of seems surreal. I guess, I just really want to win."

"Well, you will, especially with us cheering you on!" Lily replied.

Scott laughed and squeezed Lily's hand, "I'm sure you're right."

Later in the day Lily and Keira were sitting together in study hall when Keira passed her a note.

Lily looked at her in amusement, then opened and read the note.

"So I noticed things seem better between you and Scott today."

Lily had naturally told Keira about their fight, Keira had just listened and been sympathetic, but had strangely refrained from giving her opinion. She had one of course, but she wanted Lily to come to her own decision, with out making any choice in reaction to any of her thoughts.

Lily quickly penned a reply. "I see we're back to the note writing, such fun. Yeah, we didn't really get to talk much over Thanksgiving break, but things were good today. It was good to see him."

"I'm glad, I just want you to be happy," was Keira's reply.

"Thanks, I'm working on it," was Lily's slightly mystifying reply.

The girls smiled at each other, then returned to their work.

That afternoon there was cheer practice as usual and Lily was enjoying being back and in charge of her team after their brief break.

"Come on girls! You're looking sloppy! We have to cheer at the championship game, and I don't want us to look like this," Lily instructed the girls. "Let's run the routine again."

They ran it again and looked substantially better.

"Good work, that was quite a bit better. I know it feels like it's been a long season, but you'll get a good holiday over winter break before the basketball season begins," Lily told them.

Since the altercation between Mia and Olivia, things had been a little strained between them, but they managed to work together well enough, and there had been no more fights.

In the parking lot after practice Lily talked with Scott, Ethan and Keira.

"So how about we see a movie, just the four of us, Wednesday night?" Keira suggested.

"Sounds good," Lily agreed. Scott nodded, liking the idea as well. "What should we see?" Lily asked.

"That's a good question. I don't know if there's actually anything I really want to see," Keira replied.

"We could get take out and use the theatre room at my place," Ethan suggested.

"Sometimes, you think of the best ideas!" Keira exclaimed, kissing his cheek.

"So, Ethan's place then?" Scott asked for clarification.

"Yeah, say about six? I don't want to have a late night, especially after practice," Ethan answered.

"Suits me," Lily remarked cheerfully. "Anyway, I'm going to head off now."

"Me too," Scott stated. They moved off to their cars, and Scott drove out of the parking lot. Lily was just about to follow him out when there was a tap on her window. She looked over to find Liam there. She grinned at him and put the window down.

"Hey, what's up?" Lily asked.

"Hey, glad I caught you before I you left," Liam said. "I've actually got a favour to ask."

"Oh? What is it?" Lily asked, curious.

"Well, I kind of didn't understand anything that went on in Trig today, and what with midterms coming up after winter break, I don't want to get behind," Liam explained. "Would you be able to help me with it?"

"Of course," Lily replied cheerfully. "Tell you what. I've got to mind Caroline for a few hours tomorrow afternoon, Aunt Mac and Uncle Dick have a doctor's appointment. You help me mind her, she likes you, then I'll help you with the trig."

"Deal," Liam agreed with a easy grin. "See you tomorrow then."

Lily drove off, her mind at waging war with itself. She'd just made plans with Liam for the next day, study plans, but plans all the same. They'd be essentially alone, and she didn't want to tell Scott about it. She didn't want to upset him, things were kind of fragile between them now, but she also wanted to be able to spend time with Liam without worrying about what Scott would think. If she was to really figure out her feelings regarding them both, she'd need to be able to spend proper time with them. It wasn't like she was planning to have some sordid affair with Liam, she just didn't relish the potential drama of discussing it with Scott. Lily normally faced things head on, but this time she felt like taking the road of avoidance.

_And it's over, and I'm going under, but I'm not giving up, I'm just giving in…Never let me go_

After school on Tuesday Liam followed Lily to the Casablancas house. They both got out of their cars and walked towards the front door together.

"It's just easier if we look after Caroline here today," Lily explained. "It will only be for about an hour, and all her things are here."

"Makes sense to me," Liam agreed.

"We'll go back to my place after," Lily continued. She then rang the doorbell.

The door was opened by Dick, and Caroline toddled up next to him.

"Hi Lily-love," Dick greeted Lily. "And, Liam again?"

"Yeah, hello again," Liam returned.

"Hi Uncle Dick, hey Carrie," Lily said cheerfully. "Liam's going to watch Caroline with me today, we're working on some homework afterwards."

"Okay," Dick replied in easy acceptance. "Mackie's almost ready I think."

Mac chose that moment to appear, her purse in hand, her jacket over her arm.

"Hi Lily, thanks for coming. And Liam, nice to see you again," Mac said politely. "We'd better get going, but we'll be back soon enough."

She bent to hug Caroline and to kiss her goodbye, but Liam noticing her intentions quickly scooped Caroline into his arms so that she'd be at an easier height for Mac.

Mac smiled gratefully at him, kissed her daughter, as did Dick, and then they left.

"What do you want to do Carrie?" Lily asked the little girl, who was still in Liam's arms.

Caroline pointed in the direction of her toy room, and Liam set her down and she toddled off, the teenagers in her wake.

It turned out that she wanted a several stories read to her, followed by some playing with her favourite stuffed toys. Liam watched as Lily read to her, then the three of them played with the stuffed animals, the two teenagers having almost as much fun as Caroline.

Lily had just set Caroline up with an snack when Mac and Dick arrived home.

Lily and Liam stayed only long enough to report on Caroline, and to find out how the new baby was doing. According to the doctor, everything was just fine, and the baby was on schedule to arrive in early April.

Lily and Liam went back to the Kane house.

Once inside Lily said, "Do you want something to eat before we start? I'm going to have a glass of milk and a cookie."

"That sounds good," Liam agreed.

"Great! I think we'll take them out onto the deck and work out there. It's quite a nice day today, the sun is surprisingly warm and there's no wind," Lily said thoughtfully.

"Whatever you think," Liam replied.

"Okay, this way then," Lily instructed.

They sat together, eating and going through the work from the last two days, Lily explaining everything in simple terms until Liam understood the material.

"How about you do a few problems on your own now, then I'll see how you've gone," Lily suggested.

"Good idea," Liam said, and began his first problem.

Lily pulled out her Chemistry and worked on it for a while. The silence between them was comfortable, as they worked, very different to that first awkward silence back when Liam had rescued her on the PCH when she'd had a flat.

Liam was concentrating on his work and Lily looked up from hers, smiling at the serious look on his face. She noticed that his dark brown hair was a little longer than usual, and thanks to that, a little messier. She couldn't help herself from admiring Liam's body, it was evident, even through his clothing that he was strong and well toned.

Liam chose that moment to put his pen down and look up. He smiled at her and said, "Well, I'm done, you want to check them?"

Lily quickly when through them, only finding one small error.

"I think you've got it," she said, pleased.

"Good, because that's about all the work I can do in an afternoon," Liam replied.

"Yeah, I was getting a little tired of working too," Lily agreed.

"Want to go for a walk then?" Liam suggested.

Lily's subconscious tried to get her attention, suggesting that a walk near sundown might not be the wisest choice, but Lily ignored it and replied, "That sounds nice."

They packed their things up and put them inside, then began walking down the beach together, walking closely, hands not quite touching.

"I don't know if I should ask this, but are you alright after the other night? It looked like you had a pretty bad fight with Scott." Liam said.

"It was pretty bad at first, but we sorted it out," Lily replied. "Thanks for checking though."

"No problem. If you ever need me, for anything, I'm here," Liam offered sincerely.

Lily smiled at him, once again drawn in by his eyes. "Thank you," she said gently.

They walked on further and then Lily stopped, so Liam did as well.

"I love this beach, and watching the ocean. I like watching the way the waves come crashing in and then trickle back out gently. It makes me feel like that even if things get out of control, they'll eventually break into calm," Lily told Liam, her lovely features highlighted by the setting sun.

Liam watched her as she spoke, listening carefully to her words, following the movement of her pink lips as she spoke. He moved so that he was standing close in front of her, facing her.

"Lily," he said, his voice slightly rough with emotion.

"Yes?" Lily asked, quietly, moving a little closer still to him.

Liam moved one hand up to cup the side of her face, lifting it up a little towards his. His eyes asked the question and she answered him by moving in so that their lips were almost touching.

He close the last tiny distance between them, their lips meeting in a gentle kiss. Liam pulled back slightly, looking into Lily's eyes, wanting to know what she wanted.

She answered him by reaching up and pulling his face back to hers, this time their lips meeting more passionately.

The stood their for several minutes kissing furiously. Their tongues met, tasting and exploring, this kiss so different to the disastrous one after the Homecoming dance. When they broke apart Lily leaned her head on Liam's shoulder for a brief moment.

Then her head suddenly snapped up, and she stepped quietly out of his embrace.

He looked at her questioningly.

"I, I," Lily stammered. "I can't talk about this now."

"Okay," Liam replied slowly.

"I just need time to sort out my thoughts," Lily said, more collected now.

"Sure, I understand, but we will talk, and I won't wait for ever," Liam told her. "Come on, we should walk back now. I need to get home I guess."

Lily agreed and they moved back up the beach, their silence mercifully not awkward, both were merely lost in their own thoughts.

**AN: Thanks for reading, please review :) I'd love to hear whether you're Team Liam or Team Scott!**


	15. Chapter 15 So emotional

**AN: Thanks for all the feedback everyone, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Chapter 15 – So emotional

_I got a love of my own baby, I shouldn't get so hung up on you_

When Lily arrived at school on Wednesday she had made up her mind to act as normally around Liam as possible, it would be impossible to keep things to herself if she didn't. She didn't exactly want to lie to Scott, but she wanted to be able to figure things out without upsetting him to start with. Lily still cared a lot about Scott, so she decided the best thing to do was to continue with their relationship, and their plans for the evening. She knew Liam wouldn't say anything to anyone about what had happened, it wouldn't do any of them any favours.

When Lily slid onto the seat next to Scott at lunch he put an arm around her and pulled her close. She turned her face towards him and accepted a quick kiss on the lips. She then turned to talk to Keira, but instead all she saw was Liam standing behind her, a pained look on his face. He tried to mask it as quickly as possible, but Lily saw it. She cringed inwardly, but knew there was nothing she could do about it then, so she returned her attention to Keira.

"I was thinking of doing something different for practice this afternoon," Lily said to Keira.

"Yeah? Like what?" Keira asked in interest.

"Well, everyone seems to be a bit at the end of their tethers. They all know the routines perfectly, so I thought we might do something fun today to reinspire their enthusiasm," Lily explained.

"I agree, it sounds like you've thought it out well. What were you thinking of doing?" Keira questioned.

"Well, I was thinking we could do a Zumba class. We've got the sound system in the gym, and I can get an instructor in this afternoon, I've already checked it out. It should be fun, it'll be a good work out, and it's still got moves similar to cheering," Lily rationalised.

"It's a great idea!" Keira enthused. "I can't wait for practice now, and then we're going to Ethan's. It's going to be a good end to the day."

Lily smiled, pleased that her idea had been taken so well by Keira.

"I also think it's a good idea," Ethan remarked. He had obviously been listening in, even though he and Scott had been in the middle of a discussion.

"And why is that?" Keira enquired archly.

"I think it would be a good idea if I came and watched," Ethan amended, a roguish grin on his face.

Keira slapped him lightly and said, "You're terrible sometimes!"

When Lily arrived at Trig with Melanie she faltered slightly at the sight of Liam in his usual seat, but gathered herself together and tried to walk into the room as naturally as possible.

"Hey," Lily greeted him with a smile.

"Hey," Liam returned with an easy smile.

Lily wanted to say something about lunch, but she had no idea how to form the words, and it was not the time or place for that conversation anyway.

"How'd did you go with the rest of the questions?" Lily asked lamely.

"I got them done," Liam answered. "Thanks," he added with a small smile.

Lily then turned to Melanie on her other side, and began to talk to her about the surprise she had planned for practice.

The Zumba class was a big success, the girls had a lot of fun with it. Afterwards they seemed much more relaxed and happy, and Lily felt reasonably sure that they'd be better off for it for the rest of the season. The championship game was only just over a week away, so it wasn't like there was long to go.

Lily went home after practice, showered and changed, then Scott picked her up and they made their way to Ethan's house.

Lily and Keira ordered Italian and Scott and Ethan picked Chinese. Once their food arrived the four of them made themselves comfortable in the Masters' luxurious theatre room.

Lily snuggled up to Scott and they ate their food as the movie started. Later on when they'd finished eating, Scott pulled Lily into his lap and dropped gentle kisses on her lips from time to time. Lily returned the kisses, enjoying them, but also thinking guiltily of her kisses with Liam and the fact that she'd enjoyed those too, a lot.

_Oh I remember the way that we touched, I wish I didn't like it so much…Ain't it shocking what love can do_

Lily went through the motions of school on Thursday, feeling guiltier by the hour. Scott's loving looks and open affection, combined with Liam's occasional pained looks and slightly distant behaviour and her own lies were consuming her mind. She had trouble concentrating and was beginning to feel more than a little overwhelmed.

By Friday evening Lily had worked herself up into a state. She tossed and turned in her bed as she tried to sleep, but it was pointless, her mind was too active. It wasn't very late, only just after eleven, but Lily had gone to bed early, having chosen to make no social plans for the evening. Duncan and Eva were at a work function for Duncan, so Lily had been alone with her thoughts for many hours.

Lily tossed off her covers, got out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans and a warm jumper. She grabbed a pair of shoes quickly and slipper her feet in. She grabbed her cell and slipped downstairs. She went into the kitchen, found a piece of paper and scribbled a quick note in case Duncan and Eva got home before she did.

"At Keira's. Won't be home too late. Love you both," the note read.

Lily grabbed her keys from the front room then stepped out the front door, locking it behind her. She got into her car, started it and drove away from her house.

The night was quiet and still as Lily drove further away from the centre of Neptune. The moon was shining brightly when she pulled up outside the cemetery.

She got out, grabbed a flashlight and the flowers that she'd grabbed from a vase in the house on her way out. She made her way through the familiar area. She'd made many visits to the cemetery over the years, both with Duncan and on her own. She'd even been a couple of times with Veronica.

She moved through the graves, stopping first by Cassidy Casablancas', leaving a flower on it and uttering a quiet, "I hope you're happier where you are now."

Since Veronica had explained the tragic story of Cassidy's short life to her earlier in the year, Lily had made a point of stopping by his grave whenever she visited the cemetery. In theory she knew that Cassidy had caused her mother's death, but her tender side knew that he'd just been a lost boy, who'd never really known love.

From Cassidy's grave she moved on to Lianne's, leaving another flower on it. Since Lianne had been laid to rest there the previous summer Lily always stopped and said hello to Lianne, out of respect for both Veronica and her grandfather.

She moved on to her next graved, stooped down and placed a few flowers on it and said, "Hi Mom. I'm not going to stay and talk to you for too long. I've done something that I'm trying to sort out and I wanted to talk to someone about it, but I'm not going to talk to you. I know you'd listen, but I don't want you to be disappointed in me. Besides, from what I've heard there might be someone who has a little more experience in my drama for me to talk to. I miss you, and I love you very much."

Lily then kissed her fingers, then moved them onto the grave briefly. She rose and moved off, stopping at her namesake's grave, Lilly Kane.

"Hi Aunt Lilly," Lily began, placing the rest of the flowers on her grave. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd come down here and talk to you. I know you can't talk back, but I need to talk to someone. I just need to try and sort out my thoughts and talking to you seemed like a good idea. I know I never got to meet you, but from what Aunt Veronica, Dad, and everyone have said, you lived and loved a lot, and made mistakes too. You see, I've been dating this boy, Scott, for a while now. Just over nine months really. Everything was really good for ages, he's so sweet to me, he was my first. I'm sure I was in love with him, but I don't know if I am anymore. I know I still love him, but I probably always will in one way or another. He's not the problem though, I am, and there's another guy. I guess you probably already realised that."

Lily paused for a minute, trying to decide exactly what to say. "His name is Liam, he's the king of the 09ers. He was a jerk to me for a long time, trying all the wrong things to get my attention, but then we had a fight of sorts I guess, but in the end we became friends. Really good friends, then I started to feel more for him, but I ignored it because of Scott. Then on Tuesday afternoon I let him kiss me, we were alone, on the beach. So now I don't know what to do. I don't know whether or not to end Scott and my relationship, hurt him and throw away the past nine months. I guess I'll end up hurting him no matter what choice I make. Then there's Liam. When I kissed him, it was so exhilarating, I felt so alive. I can't stop thinking about it. I feel so bad, especially when his face flashes across my mind when Scott kisses me. I even just really like spending time with Liam. But I can't let anything develop between us while I'm still with Scott. I guess you see now why I'm so confused."

Lily sat on the ground, fiddling with one of the flowers she'd placed on the grave. The quiet night was calming, and she sat there, hoping that an answer would come to her in the silence.

None came however, she hadn't really thought it would. She felt a bit calmer after voicing her thoughts, even it was only to someone who could never give her answers. Sometimes love really sucked.

She arrived home to a still empty house, so she removed her note and went back up to bed, put her pyjamas back on and soon fell into an exhausted sleep.

_I gotta watch you walk in the room baby, I gotta watch you walk out_

On Monday at school Lily felt a little more sane than she had at the end of the last week, she only had a small gnawing feeling in her stomach from time to time. This was good seeing as she needed to focus on her school work, with midterms approaching, and she needed to be able to give all her attention to cheer practice as the championship game at the end of the week.

Sitting in Trigonometry after lunch, Lily turned her head towards the doorway to find Liam walking in. She had been waiting for his arrival and observed his features carefully. He was looking at her intently, and she knew he wouldn't wait forever to talk to her about what had happened, and undoubtedly, what was going to happen.

He sat down next to her and she smiled tentatively at him. "Don't look so worried, it's alright for now," he told her in a low voice.

She smiled gratefully at him, relieved.

Just then Melanie walked into the room and stopped next to Liam's desk and said, "Liam, Claudia is waiting just outside the door for you. She said she needs to talk to you."

Liam looked puzzled, but stood and ducked out of the room quickly.

Lily's eyes followed his exit, curious as to what Claudia, an 09er sophomore, could possibly want. Along with being curious, she also felt a little nagging feeling of jealousy.

"What are you frowning about?" Melanie asked in amusement.

"I didn't even realise I was," Lily answered, managing a little laugh. "I guess I was thinking too hard about planning our routines for Friday night."

Melanie accepted her reasoning easily, and they discussed their cheers until Liam reappeared a few minutes later.

Lily looked at him expectantly.

"She was asking me out," Liam divulged, grinning in amusement. "Judging by the group of giggling sophomore girls nearby, it was a dare."

"That poor girl," Melanie said in sympathy.

"Oh, she'll be alright," Lily said carelessly, relieved that that was all it was.

Liam smothered a smirk, amused, and a little relieved, to see that Lily was exhibiting some signs of jealousy. He inwardly thanked those silly sophomore girls who'd chosen that particular time to have their friend ask him out.

During their study hall, Keira and Lily made plans to go shopping Tuesday afternoon for dresses for the party that was planned for after the championship game. Even if they didn't win, Neptune would have had a wonderful season, and it was a good reason to have a party. Mia had volunteered to host the party, her parents were going to conveniently out of town.

Accordingly, Tuesday found Lily and Keira in the mall, in search of expensive dresses, of which they new they'd find many.

"I'm glad to see you looking more cheerful Lil," Keira said to her surprisingly. "You looked pretty bad at the end of last week, I'd been wondering if there was something wrong."

Sometimes Lily forgot how perceptive Keira could be, particularly when it came to observing people.

"Thanks Keira," Lily replied, truly grateful that her best friend was so attentive. She couldn't tell her what she'd been thinking about though, it wasn't fair, not with the way all their social and love lives were intertwined. "I think I was just tired and studying too hard. I had a good break over the weekend."

"If I studied as much as you I'd probably feel as tired," Keira remarked. "But shopping, and partying are both pretty good cures for too much studying, so I predict you'll be feeling amazing by the end of this week!"

Lily laughed at Keira's enthusiasm, it felt good to laugh again. She was normally so free and happy, she knew she needed to be careful to make sure she didn't lose that side of herself.

By the end of their trip Lily had picked up a new dress for the party, among other things, and a pair of shoes to go with it. The dress was short, blue A line bandage dress. It was pretty and feminine, but wasn't something too sexy. Lily hadn't wanted to wear anything that could potentially cause her more problems than she already had. She chose a pair of silver pumps to go with it.

Keira had bought a tight, metallic purple, mini dress. She looked very good in it, her dark olive skin and chestnut brown hair pretty much always ensured that she looked amazing. She and Lily had very different features, but were thought to be as stunning as each other, in their own ways.

Lily returned from their shopping trip feeling very cheerful, it was amazing how retail therapy and time with her best friend could make her feel so much better.

_I like the animal way you move, and when you talk I just watch your mouth_

Lily and Liam walked out of Trigonometry together on Thursday afternoon, laughing over the random fit off rage their teacher had had during the lesson.

"Lily," Liam said, suddenly serious. "I've given you time, and we've just gone on with things the way they were, but once the championship game is over, I'm going to start getting more insistent about what happened."

Lily nodded and said, "Okay. Seems fair. How are you feeling about tomorrow?"

"I feel strangely calm about it," Liam replied. "We've trained hard, done pretty much everything we can do. It all comes down to how everything goes on the night, but I think we can win. We'll have to work for it, but we can do it."

"Listen to you, all calm and confident, without being an ass," Lily said with a smile.

"Well, someone once told me it wasn't such a good look on me," Liam replied teasingly.

Lily gave him a gentle smile, then they parted ways, each going to their next class.

That afternoon, at the end of cheer practice, Lily sat her girls down to talk to them before they all went home.

"Great work today everyone. We're going to be amazing tomorrow, and it's because you've all worked so hard. So, thank you. It's important that we're able to support the guys well tomorrow when we play. Our performance also reflects on me, and our school, so thank you," Lily finished.

The girls all responded well, smiling, clapping, calling out supporting remarks. They'd been happy with Lily as their captain, she'd done a good job leading them, so far.

On Friday before the game, Lily was sitting with Scott, already in her uniform. He wasn't in his as it wasn't practical for him to be in it just yet.

"How're you feeling?" Lily asked, her hands in his.

"Nervous, I really want to win," Scott replied.

"Don't worry, I think you guys will be great," Lily said supportively, and truthfully.

"Thanks babe," Scott said, pressing a sound kiss to her lips. "I'd better go now, we're supposed to meet in the locker room soon. I'll see you on the field!"

When the Neptune High team ran out onto the field, Lily and the cheerleaders waving their pompoms and cheering wildly on the side, her eyes were drawn to her boyfriend, and then to Liam, where they rested for some time.

Throughout the game she had a hard time removing her gaze from Liam. He was having an incredible game, it was giving Neptune the edge so far. She knew that she should pay more attention to Scott's performance, but she just couldn't. She normally watched Scott, and enjoyed it, he was a good player, and had a good boy, but something about Liam was drawing her in. She listened to the roaring crowd and tried to focus on them instead, meanwhile automatically going through the motions of the cheer routines.

The game was close, but Neptune secured the win in the last few minutes. The game wasn't watched much more after that, the Neptune High supporters were celebrating too wildly. It was their first championship in more than five years, and the victory was sweet.

When the end of time sounded, Lily made sure she hugged and kissed Scott first, before she even spoke to Liam.

He ran over to her, gave her a brief hug, and yelled, "We did it!"

Lily laughed and cried, "You sure did! You were amazing."

"Yeah, I was," Liam agreed, grinning wickedly.

"You ass," Lily retorted, her indulgent smile taking any sting out of her words.

After that Lily ran off into the crowd to see her dad and Eva, and Veronica and Logan, who had all come to support her. Mac and Dick had decided to stay home, Mac being more heavily pregnant, and Caroline had been down with a cold too. They were all very pleased for her, and there were lots of hugs all round. After that Lily left them, telling Duncan that'd probably be home pretty late, but that she'd be safe, and not to worry.

Half the school appeared to be at Mia's when Lily arrived with Scott. Mia's place absorbed them all easily, and the party was one that was to be remembered for some time, and mercifully, it wasn't because of any drama. Lily had a pretty tame night, compared to the party at Scott's several weeks before. She didn't spend much time with Liam, she figured that was safest, and spent more of her time with Scott and her friends.

Things had been a little different since their fight, they'd not been as physical, their interaction lacked an appearance of ease and intimacy. This was partially due to their fight, but more so because of Lily's conflicted emotions. Still, Lily enjoyed herself, as did everyone else, and the party was a good ending to an excellent season.

**AN: Just a quick question, thoughts on a Kane baby? (Duncan and Eva's of course!) Please review :)**


	16. Chapter 16 The way I loved you

**AN: My apologies for not updating yesterday! I've been absolutely exhausted, mainly from staying up too late trying to get ahead writing this :) However, I could not go on, and had to get some sleep, as well as have family birthdays. Anyway, enjoy this chapter and thanks to the two of you who reviewed the last one!**

Chapter 16 – The way I loved you

_He is sensible and so incredible, and all my single friends are jealous_

On Monday evening Lily was sitting at the dinner table with her father and Eva, picking half heartedly at her lasagne. Scott had been as sweet as ever during the day, asking what she wanted for her birthday. It just made Lily feel worse about what she'd done and how she was feeling. Christmas break began at the end of the week, and Lily's birthday was in the first week of the holidays. There was a big party planned for her and it would also double as a sort of a Christmas party for the 09er crowd.

"Why don't you invite Scott to dinner on Thursday night?" Duncan suggested, breaking the silence.

"Oh, it's alright Daddy, I know it's a family thing really. They're all like family at least," Lily said with a smile. A month or two ago she would have been enthusiastic about the idea, but now it only made her feel more guilty.

"I know sweetheart, but he's been your boyfriend for a while now, so if you wanted him to come it would be fine. We all like him," Duncan informed her.

"Well, thanks Daddy. I'll keep it in mind," Lily said noncommittally.

"How many people are you expecting here next Wednesday?" Eva asked.

"Pretty much everyone who's been invited is coming," Lily admitted with a smile. "No one misses a Lily Kane party, either because of the status of being invited, or because they want to see what happens!"

"Some things will never change," Duncan said wryly, remembering the 09er ways of his school days. Even now, as adults, Duncan's 09er friends and old loyal subjects from school still tended to follow the typical 09er pattern. Lavish and exclusive parties, one upmanship, straining to climb higher up the social rungs. The main exceptions to this were Logan and Veronica, and Dick and Mac, and of course, he and Eva. Duncan and Logan essentially were still the kings of their 09er generation, but they didn't pay much attention to their subjects anymore, outside of common courtesy when occasion called for it. It didn't stop people like Madison Sinclair from still trying to get in tighter with them, regardless of any ties with Mac and their strange family situation, or perhaps in spite of it.

"Well it should be good to see your friends at your party anyway. We're not staying around all night though, are we Duncan?" Eva asked cheerfully.

"No, we'll head over to Logan and Veronica's for a while, but then come back later in the evening," Duncan answered. Lily grinned in appreciation.

"And it would be nice to see Scott on Thursday night Lily, we haven't seen much of him for a while," Eva said, bringing up the subject again.

Lily thought of the last time she and Scott had spent time with her dad and Evelyn.

**Flashback**

_Two months back_

Lily walked into the lounge room to see Scott talking with her dad, they were talking and laughing. Her dad had always got on well with Scott, and Scott liked her father.

Lily smothered a giggle thinking that he wouldn't like Scott so much if he knew what they'd been doing up stairs before he and Eva got home.

"So you're considering Hearst?" Duncan asked with genuine interest.

"Yeah, they have a good football team, which is important for me, I want to keep playing. Plus, Mom and Dad would like it if I didn't go too far away for school," Scott answered.

"Yeah, they do have a good team, and it's a good school. My dad went there, along with quite a few of my friends," Duncan commented. "I'd be happy if Lily went there too, it'd be nice to keep her around. Maybe you'll be a good incentive for that," Duncan added with a chuckle.

Scott grinned back, "I'd like that too–"

"Ah, nice to hear you two having a good time and are enjoying conspiring about me," Lily broke in cheerfully. "Dinner's ready now though, so time to end this little powwow."

Lily and Scott lingered a little moment in the room, while Duncan went into the kitchen to find Eva.

Lily put her arms around Scott, cuddling up close to him. She kissed him gently, the laid her head on his shoulder.

"You're amazing, you know? Thank you for talking to my dad, it's important to me that he likes you," Lily said sincerely. "I love you, so I want him to at least like you, but I'm beginning to think he might like you a little too much! Plotting to keep me here?" Lily added, giggling.

Scott kissed her and said, "I like your dad, and I love you, and you can go to college wherever you want. However, Heart is a very good school and they'd be lucky to have you. Now come on, food time!"

**End flashback**

After dinner Lily went up to her room, her thought at the dinner table had sent her into a spiral of memories. She likes the pleasant, warm feeling that the old memories gave her. She remembered all the times that her friends had said that they thought she and Scott would get married, but Lily knew now that they were just girlish comments and fleeting fancies. Things had been so easy, so wonderful, but that fact just made her realise that things could probably never go back to the way they were.

She wasn't sure exactly what she wanted to happen, or how she would sort things out, but she did know that inviting Scott to dinner on Thursday was not a good idea. She still cared for him, but if their relationship was at a place, for her, that inviting him to an intimate gathering like that sent the wrong message. There was an ever growing possibility that Lily would end up breaking up with Scott, and she didn't want to add stringing him along exceedingly to the list of things she'd already done to hurt him.

_He opens up my door and I get into his car and he says you look beautiful tonight_

On Tuesday at lunch Lily was sitting with Scott, he had his arm around her, she felt comfortable, but there was no tingle of excitement, not like she use to feel.

"Hey, I was thinking," Scott said to her.

"Oh, thinking were you? Careful, don't think too hard or you might hurt yourself," Lily said playfully.

"Brat," Scott said with a chuckle. "So, do you want to hear what I'm thinking or not? I mean, I thought it was a pretty good plan, complete with surprises, but if you're not interested– "

"No, please, I'll be good! Tell me," Lily said winsomely.

"You're sure, I mean, we can just go back to eating lunch and talking about how awesome our football team is," Scott replied.

"No, tell me now!" Lily cried, wrapped up in the game.

Scott laughed and said, "Okay. Well we missed doing anything for our nine months because of Thanksgiving, then it got really busy with football, but I thought we could go out tomorrow night, celebrate your birthday and our nine months."

"You're too good to me," Lily said a little emotionally. "It sounds wonderful, but don't do anything too extravagant for me." Scott's idea was making her feel super guilty, but there was nothing to do but put effort into their relationship for the time being.

"Nothing's too much for you," Scott told her sincerely. "I figure if we don't go some time this week we'll miss the opportunity, what with your birthday, Christmas and New Year's."

"Tomorrow sounds good," Lily replied, smiling. "What do you have in mind?"

"Not telling," Scott answered. "It'll be a surprise, you're always asking for surprises."

"Well what should I wear then?" Lily pressed.

After a brief pause Scott replied, "A nice dress."

"Well, I guess I'll be going shopping for something special this afternoon," Lily replied flirtatiously.

"Babe, you look hot no matter what you wear, or don't wear," Scott said, the last bit accompanied by a suggestive look.

Lily giggled, and actually blushed. It had been a while since they'd had sex. Things had been tense, their fight had distanced them a little, and Lily hadn't really felt like it, so she hadn't been making an effort to get Scott alone. Judging by how touchy feely Scott had been more recently, she knew that he wanted to return to their previous intimacy levels, and she knew tomorrow night would be the sort of occasion that called for it. The only problem was that she wasn't sure if she wanted to. Sex wasn't just sex to her, it actually meant something, to her it went hand in hand with being in love. She didn't want to sleep with Scott if she wasn't in love with him anymore. It wasn't fair to her or to him.

Lily had been thinking it over seriously since after she left Scott at the end of lunch, and she hadn't been paying much attention in her Trig class. She was startled out of her deep thought when Liam said, "Hey, what are you thinking about? You look really serious."

Lily blushed for the second time in less than an hour, she wasn't normally someone who blushed, something that Liam immediately picked up on.

"That good, hey?" Liam asked, curiosity evident in his tone.

Lily thought he probably assumed that she was either thinking about something to do with him, or possibly, something to do with Scott, and definitely something pertaining to sex.

Lily just smiled secretively, deciding that there was nothing she could say in response.

"Sure, sure, don't talk to me," Liam teased.

"I'll talk to you," Lily replied with a smile.

"When?" Liam asked, suddenly intense, his meaning clear.

"Can you give me a little more time?" Lily asked, not ready to give him any answers yet, mainly because she wasn't quite sure what they would be.

"Lily," Liam said, a little frustrated.

"Can you give me until the end of the week, please?" Lily asked.

Liam sighed, unable to deny her that. "Okay, but I swear, I'm going to make you talk to me after then, and Christmas break won't deter me in the slightest Lily. I'll be at your house every day if need be."

"You wouldn't be you if you weren't," Lily remarked with a smile. She'd hoped the holidays would give her a little bit of extra time, but she hadn't been counting on it.

"Everyone, stop talking and do your work!" Mr Corke's voice yelled above the current din in the room.

That ended Lily and Liam's chat, but Melanie nudged Lily and leaned over and whispered, "What were you two talking so intently about?"

"Oh nothing," Lily said casually. "Just plans for Christmas break really," Lily expanded, not really lying.

Melanie smiled, then opened her mouth to reply, but stopped at the glare she received from Mr Corke.

After school Lily went shopping with Sophie and Mia. She wasn't really in the mood to shop with Keira, because shopping with Keira meant more deep conversation than the light and easy chatting that Mia and Sophie provided. In short, Keira was too perceptive to Lily's moods.

Their trip was successful, and Lily enjoyed listening to the silly banter that Sophie and Mia supplied.

On Wednesday evening Lily stood in her closet, a towel wrapped around her. She was standing in front of the drawers that contained her underwear and she was unsure of which ones to wear. Plain and simple indicated that there was no intention for anything to happen, but if it did, well it wouldn't really matter. Lacy and sexy indicated that you were in the mood, end of story. She could wear lacy and sexy just in case, but if there was any heavy making out Scott would see her underwear and think she was definitely planning on more.

In the end Lily chose pretty and plain, if she decided it was the safest option. She could still choose to have sex with Scott if it felt right, but it removed the pressure.

Lily was ready when she heard Scott pull up out the front and she said goodnight to Duncan and Eva quickly, then stepped outside before Scott could get to the front door.

She met him a few metres from his car, walked right up to him and kissed him sweetly.

"Thank you for the roses you sent, they were such a lovely surprise!" Lily exclaimed.

"I'm glad you liked them," Scott replied, walking her around to her side of the car.

He opened the door for her, stepped back with a little bow and said playfully, "My lady."

Lily giggled and said, "Why thank you, kind sir."

She sat herself in the car and Scott quickly moved around to his side and got in. He started the car then looked at her and said seriously, "You look absolutely beautiful Lily."

"Thank you," Lily replied softly. She had gone to quite some effort to look nice for their evening, she felt it was the least she could do, considering the circumstances. She truly did look lovely. Her hair was down, but pulled back gently, off her face. Her make up was flawless and tasteful, the natural shades she had chosen becoming her. She was wearing diamond drop pendant earrings, her usual diamond L pendant necklace, and a diamond cocktail ring. It was her dress however that was the standout feature. Lily's dress was a black, grey and white Oscar de la Renta, made of silk-taffeta. The top of it was completely black, with a boat neck and it was sleeveless. It was fitted to her waist at which a black silk bow sat on the front. From there down the skirt was frothy and layered, with bits of white, grey and black silk-organza fringe, it stopped just above her knees. To complete her look she was wearing a pair of peep toe black pumps.

Scott drove off and they headed out for their evening together.

_And I never knew I could feel that much_

Thursday at lunch found Lily sitting at her usual lunch table with her friends, they were having girl time. Or rather, her friend were all talking, but Lily had zoned out, thinking about the previous evening.

Scott had taken her to an expensive French restaurant in Neptune that she liked particularly, the food there was exquisite. They had both enjoyed the meal, talking quietly together, with Lily ignoring the things that had been bothering her over the last few weeks. There are times when denial and avoidance are key to survival, and that was one of them. Lily chose to pretended that things were the way they use to be, and ended up enjoying herself immensely.

On their way back to Lily's place they pulled in at a quiet spot that they had used before for secluded make out sessions.

Scott had leaned over and kissed Lily, and she had returned the kiss willingly. By the time Lily's dress was unzipped and hanging off her, and Scott was shirtless, she knew that she was going to go through with having sex with him again.

Thinking back on it, Lily realised it had been routine, there had been no particular spark, no frantic desire. Those things came with being in love and being completely devoted to the other person. She looked a few table across and saw Scott and realised, with a hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach, she wasn't in love with him anymore. She knew it for certain and it meant that their relationship was effectively over.

At that opportune moment Olivia, the slutty cheerleader, walked over to where Liam was sitting, slid onto his lap and kissed him. Liam pushed her away and stood up, removing her from his lap in one fluid motion. Lily was watching on in shock.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Liam asked, his voice raised in anger, loud enough for most people to hear.

Olivia just giggled and smiled coyly, strangely swaying a little.

Liam walked over to her and grabbed her shoulder. He looked at her closely and asked, "Are you drunk? You are, you're absolutely pissed. What the hell Olivia?"

He looked around and quickly spotted a couple of Olivia's friends nearby, watching the scene closely.

Liam walked Olivia over to them and said quietly, "Can you two deal with her? She clearly needs help. Sort it out."

That ended the matter for Liam, and naturally Olivia's friends took over. Liam sat back down at his table, quickly searching for Lily's face. He found it, smiled reassuringly at her, then returned to talking with his friends.

Lily however was not placated by his reassuring smile. A wide range of emotions were flooding through her. She felt angry at Olivia for kissing Liam, she felt jealous as she watched her lips on his, she felt mad at herself for being jealous – it was so petty, especially considering how she'd been delaying making a decision over Scott and Liam. She also felt sorry for Olivia, if she was drunk during the middle of the day and making a fool over herself, something was clearly wrong. As Lily sat there seething, feeling jealous, she realised that she cared for Liam a lot, and it was more than a lustful fancy. She also felt relief, relief that Liam had pushed Olivia away, and relief that she finally knew how she felt. Then she felt frustrated because she still didn't know how to go about resolving the mess that her love life had turned in to. Following all these feelings she felt shock, shock that she had fallen for Liam, Liam Armistead who she had despised for eighteen months. Then again, they do say the opposite of love is indifference, hate is too strong emotion, it shows that you care too much. Lily sat there trying to decipher everything she was feeling and wondered how it was possible for one person to feel so much, and in the space of about five minutes.

"Lily, Lily!" Mia called, pulling Lily out of her self discovery. "Did you see that? For once the rumour mill will be buzzing about something other than you."

Lily nodded, trying to get her head back into her current situation. "Yeah, it was hard to miss. I kind of want to know what's going on there. Something clearly not right, poor girl."

Following Lily's example, her friends took the stance of sympathy, instead of bitching about Olivia's behaviour, as they may have been prone to do under a queen like Madison Sinclair.

As the girls fell to talking quietly about Olivia, Lily tried to listen in and participate, but still thought on and off about the new problems she faced in resolving her complicated love life.

**AN: I'm sorry if you feel like I'm drawing this out, but the next two chapters will be more fulfilling, I promise! Please review :)**


	17. Chapter 17 Give me love

**AN: Hello readers :) Hope you're all well! Just letting you know that I'll probably be posting every second day now, instead of daily. Hope you enjoy this next chapter! Thanks to all who have been reading, reviewing and alerting.**

Chapter 17 – Give me love

_Give a little time to me or burn this out_

The last day of school passed quickly, the excitement of the holidays assisting greatly with that. Those who were invited to Lily's 18th on the following Wednesday were looking forward to the fun and prestige that accompanied it. There was also the incident from lunch the previous day, the one involving Olivia Roberts, that kept everyone gossiping enthusiastically about it.

Late Saturday morning, when Lily woke up she knew that her time was up, and that she'd have to talk things with Liam out in the very near future. She'd accepted that, but she decided she'd take as much time as she could get, so she'd let Liam come to her when he was sick of waiting.

Deciding that she needed a distraction, Lily went downstairs and found Evelyn.

"Hey Eva, I was just thinking about going shopping for Wednesday, I want a new dress for my party. Did you want to come with me maybe?" Lily asked hopefully.

"Sure," Eva replied with a smile. "How about we get lunch beforehand? I'll leave Duncan a sandwich or something in the fridge."

"Great! How will Daddy cope with just a sandwich?" Lily asked, giggling. "We'll probably come home and find he's ordered take out, or maybe even gone to Aunt Veronica's for lunch."

"Probably," Eva agreed, grinning. "But he can tough it out every once in a while."

Lily grinned in replied, then scampered off to dress. It didn't take her too long, and she appeared a brief time later, looking pretty and eager.

"Ready Eva?" Lily asked.

"Yes, I'll just grab my purse and we can go," Evelyn replied.

The two of them made their way out, stopping in Duncan's office to kiss him goodbye.

"Is it alright if we take my car?" Lily asked.

"Sure," Eva agreed easily.

Lily and Eva stopped for lunch first, choosing to eat sushi, a favourite of Lily's. Once at the mall they fell to shopping in earnest. Evelyn hadn't been much of a shopper before she married Duncan, having not been a girly girl, and she'd only needed to wear a uniform to work. Lily however had thought this was atrocious and had been teaching to shop as one should when one is in possession of a credit card with limitless funds. Eva had begun to become better at it, but at times had trouble buying luxe items when there was a similar budget option available.

"How about this?" Eva suggested, holding up a cream dress.

"Eva!" Lily admonished in amusement. "What have I told you about sales racks?"

"Don't look at them as a first resort," Eva answered sheepishly. "But it is pretty, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's pretty enough, but it's outdated, and I can't wear something outdated to my own party, and I prefer not to wear older things anyway," Lily informed Eva. "I'm thinking of something a bit brighter too," Lily added. "I like the soft colours, but I love bright ones more."

Eva nodded and wandered over to another rack, a rack where nothing had a price. This was never a good sign in Eva's opinion, but there were plenty of shops in Neptune that stocked very expensive designer labels, they needed to cater to the rich and famous who lived in the vicinity.

"How about this?" Eva suggested, holding up a red, off-the-shoulder Gucci dress.

"That's more like it," Lily said musingly, "but not quite right. These things can take time Eva," Lily finished with a laugh.

A little while later Lily looked over and saw Eva fingering the fabric of a long, formal gown.

Lily walked over and joined Eva and said, "That's pretty."

"It's lovely," Eva breathed in agreement.

"So go try it on," Lily told her. "You'll have reason to wear it soon enough!"

"I don't know Lily," Eva said slowly.

"Evelyn Kane, don't be a goose, go try it on," Lily ordered, her eyes twinkling.

"I thought I was supposed to be the adult," Eva retorted wryly, picking up the dress and heading off to try the dress on all the same.

Lily grabbed a few dresses she liked and followed after Eva.

Lily stepped out wearing a dark green, patterned Alexander McQueen knit dress. It was short with cap sleeves and Lily looked very striking in it.

"That looks great Lil," Eva remarked, emerging from trying on her dress.

Lily turned around saying, "Thanks, I like it a lot too, but not for the party–"

She stopped and stared at Eva, not saying anything.

"What?" Eva asked.

"It's beautiful Eva! You look absolutely amazing. You have to get it, you have to!" Lily raved.

Evelyn looked pleased. "I think I will," Eva agreed.

"Yes, you will! Now I'll just try on these few other things, then we can go Christmas present shopping," Lily stated.

Lily disappeared to try on her next dress while Eva stayed looking at herself in the full length mirror. She was wearing a draped, strapless Versace gown, it was a light bronze colour and made from luxurious silk. Eva was very pleased with the simple and elegant look of the dress. She turned and moved off to take the dress of and change into her own clothes.

When Eva and Lily left the mall they were laden down with bags, including the Versace gown Eva had tried on, and the Alexander McQueen dress Lily had liked. Lily had also bought an emerald green dress, it had a high neck, with a cut out back and an empire waist. The tiered, flare skirt fell a few inches above her knees and suited Lily nicely. Lily wore green particularly well, and green was a good colour for the season. She'd also picked up a blush coloured Emilio Pucci lace dress that she'd particularly liked. It would do very well for her grandparent's Christmas party. She had also finally chosen a dress for her birthday party, and when she got home it was given a place of honour in her closet.

Just as Lily had kicker her boots off and slipped into her Uggs, and had traded her jacket for a soft woollen jumper, the doorbell rang. Lily thought little of it and flopped down on her bed with her laptop. Shortly Duncan called out, "Lily, you have a visitor!", startling her out of her brief moment of rest.

"Coming!" Lily called back, closing her laptop and making her way downstairs. She wasn't expecting anyone, Keira was at Ethan's, she'd made no plans with the others, and she'd yet to work out how she was going to approach things with Scott. Just as she reached the bottom step she realised it would be Liam, it had to be, and she felt slightly apprehensive. Still, she entered the lounge room with a cheerful smile on her face and said, "Hey Liam. Nice to see you unexpectedly."

Liam quirked an eyebrow at her, then replied easily, "I was out and just decided I'd swing by and say hello."

Their remarks were all for Duncan's benefit and he seemed to accept them at face value.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it," Duncan said. With that he wandered off and Lily stood there looking at Liam a little uncertainly.

"Um, do you want a drink?" Lily asked. "Hot chocolate maybe? We can take it out onto the deck. It's a little cool, but it's still nice out there." It was quiet, as well as nice, as both of them knew.

"Sure, sounds good," Liam answered. "I'll come help you with the hot chocolate."

He followed her into the kitchen and followed her directions in making their drinks.

"Don't forget the marshmallows, they're the most important part," Lily finished, handing him a bag of them.

He grinned and added them to their steaming mugs. Liam then handed her mug to her and he took his and they walked out the back. They sat down and Lily waited for Liam to say something.

"So, I told you I'd wait until break started, and I've given you a whole twenty four hours since then," Liam began, a little humour tinging his tone. "But I meant what I said, so I'm here to talk. I figured that if you knew what to say you'd have said it by now, so I'll start."

He looked at Lily, waiting for her to indicate that he should go ahead. She nodded, a small smile on her face, so Liam began.

"I know I should be sorry for kissing you the other week, but I'm not. I'm not sorry that I kissed you with your permission, but I'm sorry that you were, and still are, in another relationship. All I really want to know is how you're feeling. Do you want to be with me? Do you want to forget it happened? I don't want to forget it happened, I want to give us a chance, I think we deserve that. I really care about you, and I think you care about me. If you don't you need to tell me, and we can move on. I don't want to lose your friendship. I just need you to talk to me, to tell me," Liam told her, his eyes and tone sincere the whole way through.

_We'll play hide and seek to turn this around_

Lily felt a little floored by his earnest words, his honesty, and the adult way he had approached the situation.

"I haven't been avoiding talking about it because I don't care Liam, in fact I care too much," Lily admitted in a small voice.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Liam asked.

"It means, like you said, I'm in a relationship with someone else. It's not fair to Scott for me to feel this way. I shouldn't have kissed you, but I'm not sorry I did, and that's been really hard for me to understand," Lily explained. "I have been thinking about what happened, about you, about me, about Scott, and I think I know what I want now, I just don't know how to get there."

"Okay," Liam responded slowly. "What do you want?"

"I want you, I want there to be an 'us'," Lily told him, almost shyly. "I've just made such a mess of things with Scott over the last few months because of how I feel about you, and I need to work that out before anything can happen with us."

"What do you mean, work that out?" Liam asked her. "If you want to be with me, then what is there to work out? You break up with him."

"I can't just do that," Lily replied. "I owe him more than that. I don't want to stay in a relationship with him anymore, I'm not in love with him anymore, but I do need to figure out how to explain things to him before I end it."

"And how long do you think that will take?" Liam asked, a little edge to his voice.

"I don't know Liam! I'm not being like this to annoy you, believe it or not, this is hard for me! I never wanted to be someone who cheated, and now I have," Lily said, her voice tense.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound frustrated, and I'm not angry with you, this whole thing is just stressful for me too. And you didn't cheat, I kissed you, and none of it was premeditated, it just happened," Liam told her, his voice calm and soothing now.

"But it did happen Liam," Lily said a little brokenly. "We didn't plan it, but it could've been avoided. We played with fire, and it's not you or me who'll get burned, it will be Scott." With that Lily's voice faltered and she got up and moved away from the table and stood against the railing, looking out towards the ocean.

Liam watched her go and murmured quietly to himself, "There's still plenty of time for us to get burned." Then he stood up and followed Lily. He put a hand on her shoulder and she turned around, a few wet tears sliding down her cheeks. He pulled her into his arms, and she rested her head comfortably on his chest.

"Don't worry so much Lil," Liam said gently. "I know it seems bad now, but everything will work out. If you need time to sort things out with Scott, then I'll wait. It'll be easier now knowing how you feel."

"Thanks," Lily said, accompanied by a little sniff. "I'm going to be an adult in just over two days and I'm not so sure I'm ready."

"Lily, give yourself a break," Liam instructed her. "We've both made mistakes, and we'll fix them, okay? I'll still be here for you while you sort out how to handle breaking up with Scott. I'll be here for you in whatever way you want me to."

"Really?" Lily asked hopefully.

"No Lily. I'm going to go and hide out in Mexico until this all blows over," Liam said sarcastically. "Of course I will, and if need be, we'll both go and hide out in Mexico after you break up with Scott," Liam added, this time his voice genuine.

This earned a little giggle from Lily and she stepped out of his arms and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you," she said. "I want to kiss you properly now, but I'm not going to. You know why. So a kiss on the cheek will have to do."

"Oh, I'll cope," Liam returned, this accompanied by an exaggerated sigh of sadness.

Lily giggled again, then said, "Well, it's probably best if we don't hang out anymore now. It'll be easier that way, and I have some thinking to do."

"Alright," Liam agreed. "I'll talk to you later?" The question was evident in his voice.

"Of course," Lily answered, smiling.

"I know you've still got a few days before your party to make your decision, but do you still want me to come?" Liam asked.

"Of course. It would be strange if you weren't there, no matter how you look at it," Lily told him confidently.

"Good. How about Tuesday? Can I see you then?" Liam asked.

"I don't know Liam, it's probably not the best idea, but I'll tell you for sure later," Lily replied.

They had reached the front door by this point and Lily stepped out onto the front step with him. Liam turned to her and said, "Bye Lil. I'm glad we finally talk."

"Me too," Lily said gently, she meant that genuinely. It was a load off her mind to have sorted things out with Liam, at least for the most part.

Liam gave her a brief hug, then left. Lily turned around and went back inside, returning to her bed and flopped back down, sinking into the pillows on her bed. She had begun to clean up the mess her love life was in, but she had a feeling that talking to Liam would end up being the easiest part of everything.

_All I want is the taste that your lips allow_

Lily spent Sunday with the Echolls and Casablancas, taking her mind off things by playing with Aubrey and Caroline, and enjoying listening to the banter of the adults.

By Monday evening she had pretty much decided what she needed to say to Scott, she just wasn't sure when the best time would be. The next day was her birthday, but that really wasn't the most ideal time for a break up chat. Then her party was the next day, again, not such a good time for a break up. After that there were several Christmas parties to attend, then the only free time she and Scott would probably both have would be the morning on Christmas Eve. It wasn't the best time, but if she didn't take it, she'd keep putting things off, and it would keep getting messier and messier.

Lily woke late on Tuesday morning. She could hear quite a commotion coming from downstairs. She shrugged into her fluffy pink bathrobe, pulled on a pair of socks and walked downstairs.

She entered the lounge room and was greeted by a chorus of "Happy Birthday Lily!"

Veronica, Logan and Aubrey were there, along with Dick, Mac and Caroline. Naturally Duncan and Eva were there as well.

Lily smiled broadly at them all and said, "Thank you! What are all of you doing here? Not that it's not great and everything."

"Well, we wanted to see you, so we came over," Veronica began.

"But then we found out you were still sleeping," Logan took over.

"So, we figured we'd wait for you," Mac continued.

"I was about to leave though, I thought Christmas would come before you got up," Dick added.

"Weel!" Caroline cried.

Lily laughed and said, "I'm sorry you were waiting. Thank you for coming, it's a perfect start to the day! So, present time?"

"You don't want some food?" Veronica asked innocently.

"No, not really," Lily replied.

"Oh Dick, I didn't know we were supposed to buy her a present," Mac said to Dick in a loud whisper.

"Oh shit, I mean, damn, me neither," Dick said. He mutter a quick "Sorry Carrie," and grinned at his wife, who shook her head.

"Don't worry Lily, Uncle Logan will save the day," Logan announced. "Ronnie and I, being the best aunt and uncle, have got you a present."

Veronica looked uncharacteristically nervous and said, "I hope you like it Lil." She handed Lily a big package.

Lily shredded the paper off in excitement to find a large photo frame, in it a picture of her holding Aubrey. Lily was holding Aubrey up in the air, above her head and they were looking at each other, both smiling widely.

"It's beautiful," Lily said gently. "Did you take it Aunt Ronica?"

"She did," Logan answered proudly. "Ronnie's been doing a bit more photography lately, especially of Aubrey. I also have something to add to your present from us."

Logan pulled a little box out of his pocket and handed it to Lily. She began to take the paper off, and as she did so Logan spoke. "I've actually had those for many years. I'd bought them for your Aunt Lilly's seventeenth birthday, and I kept them after she died. I came across them the other day when I was looking in our safety deposit box, and I thought you might like them."

Lily popped open the velvet case to reveal a stunning set of emerald stud earrings. "They're beautiful Uncle Logan. Thank you for giving them to me."

She got up and hugged both Veronica and Logan, and dropped a kiss on Aubrey's head.

"My turn, my turn!" Dick exclaimed, sounding like a five year old. "Don't worry, we really did get you a present."

Lily laughed and pretended to look surprised. She moved on to opening their present, then Duncan and Eva gave her their presents. While Lily got dressed for the day, the adults set up lunch. They had arranged to have family lunch on Lily's actual birthday, and the Fennels, Lily's grandparents, and Keith and Alicia were all coming for it as well.

Lily received an interesting collection of clothes, jewellery, movies and books from her assorted relatives and family friends. Lunch was a happy affair, with everyone managing to speak nicely to one another, those with differences put them aside for the sake of the one person they all loved unreservedly.

Scott came over for a couple of hours in the afternoon, but Lily made sure they were around people at all times, it was cowardly, but she didn't see any other way around it.

Scott gave her flowers and a card, the card promised to take her on a shopping trip to find something she'd really like. It made Lily feel a little less guilty, knowing that at least Scott wouldn't be spending a lot of money on her for her birthday.

When Lily was settled in bed for the night, her phone went off. She found a message from Liam, it told her meet him down on the beach in five minutes.

Lily smiled, wondering what on earth he had planned, but grabbed a coat, slipped into a pair of rubber soled shoes so as to avoid disturbing Eva and Duncan who were already in bed for the night. Lily grabbed a small flashlight from her drawer, pocketed her phone and left made her way out the back of the house and down to the beach.

She found Liam a little way off, sitting in the sand. She sat down next to him, switching off her flashlight. The moon was bright enough to allow them to see each other's faces fairly clearly.

"Happy birthday Lily," Liam said.

"Thanks," Lily replied. "But seeing as you already called me and wished me a happy birthday, what's this about?"

"I didn't want to not see you on your birthday," Liam explained a little sheepishly. "Selfish of me I know, but it just didn't seem right to me."

"It's sweet, thank you," Lily told him, kissing his cheek.

Liam shifted a little so that their faces were opposite each other, and very close. Their sweet moment had suddenly become very intimate and heated.

Lily's breath hitched, but she didn't draw back.

"If you don't want me to, I won't," Liam told her genuinely.

"I want you to, but I don't want to be that girl, you know that," Lily replied.

"It's still your birthday for another forty-five minutes," Liam told her. "You can do whatever you want, it's part of the rules on your birthday."

"Oh really?" Lily asked, a smile in her voice.

"Really," Liam replied.

Lily moved in closer and gently placed her lips on his in answer. Liam cupped her face with one hand, the other placed on her waist, pulling her closer.

She drew back reluctantly a short while later. "I think one kiss is probably enough, birthday or not."

"Okay," Liam agreed quickly. "But that was one hell of a kiss."

**AN: Thanks for reading, please review :)**


	18. Chapter 18 Love the way you lie

**AN: Hello all :) Well, I think this is the chapter you've probably all been waiting for! **

Chapter 18 – Love the way you lie

_On the first page of our story, the future seemed so bright_

**Flashback**

"Lily! Your date is here!" Duncan yelled.

"Daddy! Do you want him to hear you?" Lily called back, aghast.

"Don't worry princess, he's only just getting out of his car," Duncan replied.

Lily rushed and grabbed her jacket and purse, then raced downstairs. She didn't want the chance that Scott would be left alone with her dad, not on their first date.

She joined Duncan at the front door just as Scott knocked on it. Duncan opened it to reveal Scott, and Lily head poked out behind Duncan's, a bright smile on it.

"Hi, I'm Scott Hunter," Scott greeted Duncan.

"Nice to meet you Scott, I'm Duncan Kane. Come on in," Duncan returned congenially.

Scott stepped inside and Lily said, "Hi Scott."

Scott leaned over and kissed her cheek briefly, then said, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Lily replied, smiling.

"We'll be back by eleven, if that's alright," Scott said, turning to Duncan.

"Sure, thanks," Duncan replied. Then off to the side he said to Lily, "I like this one."

"Daddy!" Lily exclaimed at her father. Duncan merely grinned at her, and Lily pulled Scott out the front door.

"Sorry about him," Lily said, a little embarrassed.

"He was fine," Scott said easily. "So time for dinner and a movie?"

"Definitely," Lily answered with a smile. "So, where are we headed?"

"Well, we're having Thai," Scott informed her. "How does that sound?"

"I love Thai!" Lily exclaimed. "Actually, I love pretty much all food, so long as it's good quality."

"I like a girl who's not afraid to eat," Scott told her with a grin.

"If Keira heard you say that, she'd tell you that you're going to end up loving me," Lily said with a giggle. "I eat like my Aunt Veronica, even though we're not related."

"Veronica Echolls?" Scott asked in clarification.

"The one and only," Lily confirmed. "Her fame, or infamy, does tend to precede her!"

Lily and Scott enjoyed their dinner, they talked and laughed, learning more about each other, their likes and dislikes.

During the movie Lily eventually slipped her hand into Scott's, and their hands remained intertwined the rest of the movie, both enjoying the feeling of the other.

When Scott dropped Lily home he walked her to the front door and they stood together in front of it.

"Thanks for tonight, I had a lovely time," Lily said to Scott.

"Thank you for coming," Scott returned.

"We should do it again, soon," Lily said genuinely.

"Definitely," Scott agreed.

"Goodnight," Lily said softly.

"Goodnight," Scott echoed.

Lily reached up to kiss his cheek, but instead Scott moved and captured her lips with his own. It was a sweet and gentle kiss, similar to the one they had shared a week ago after the Valentine's Day dance.

Lily looked at him, heat building in her eyes, then moved closer and reached up and put her arms around his neck. He dipped his head back down and kiss her again, this time more thoroughly.

When they broke apart, Lily's cheeks were flushed and her eyes bright.

"Goodnight Scott," she breathed.

"Goodnight Lily," Scott replied. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

With that, Scott turned and left and Lily let herself into the house, sighing dreamily.

**End flashback**

On Thursday afternoon Lily was sitting in her freshly tidied home. Duncan had hired someone to clean it following the party from the evening before, for which Lily, and Eva, were very glad. Their house was large, and the mess had been impressive. It wasn't destructive mess, but a large group of teenagers partying for hours is bound to create a lot of mess, regardless of what mischief they get up to.

Lily had been too busy playing hostess the night before to have to worry too much about Scott or Liam. She didn't have much time to devote to either of them, which was good because she couldn't have spent too much time with Liam, and she didn't want to spend too much time with Scott, it wouldn't be fair to him.

Lily rain a hand through her long hair before curling up on her lounge, resting her head on the arm of it. She sighed, a mixed sigh of sadness and contentment. Remembering Scott and her first date made think fondly back on the early days of their relationship. She was sad at the mess that she'd created, but she was still glad that she'd had her time with Scott, she wouldn't trade it for anything, she just wasn't so sure that he was going to feel the same after she talked to him on Sunday.

Even with all the burden of the impending conversation weighing over her, Lily had still enjoyed her party the evening before. Things had started out fairly quiet, while Duncan and Eva had been there, however after they left, the alcohol came out, the music was turned up loud and the dancing became quite a bit dirtier. People strayed out onto the beach, drinking and talking, taking advantage of the substantially quieter area.

Lily had danced, talked with most people, accepted numerous expensive gifts, and had sampled most of the ample supply of food.

The party hadn't finished too late, the last few guests left just after one, right as Duncan and Eva had arrived home. The fact that Duncan and Eva were coming home eliminated the problem of Scott potentially staying the night, just another bullet that Lily dodged in her game of delaying their conversation.

Lily sighed heavily again, her assessment of the previous night complete. She knew what she needed to say to Scott, she just wished she didn't have to say it.

_Then this thing turned out so evil_

"You still alright to come over tomorrow morning Scott?" Lily asked.

"Of course. It will be nice to have some time together, finally," Scott replied.

Lily was thinking that he probably wouldn't be thinking that in about twelve hours but said, "I've seen you most days this week!"

"Yeah, but we've pretty much always been at parties, making small talk with other people," Scott returned. "I'm looking forward to seeing just you."

"How about a walk on the beach then?" Lily suggested, knowing it would sound romantic, but it's primary purpose being to give them privacy from Duncan and Eva who would both be at home.

"Sounds good. I'll see you then. Sleep well my Lily, love you," Scott said in farewell.

"Good night Scott," Lily replied, pretending to yawn hugely, to cover up the fact that her words lacked the sentiment of his.

When Scott arrived the next morning, Lily greeted him at the door, her hair pulled back into a simple ponytail. She was wearing jeans and a dark blue button up shirt.

Scott gave her a quick peck on the lips after he stepped inside.

"I'll just grab a jacket and we can go," Lily told him, trying to keep the apprehension from her voice.

She picked up a cream military style jacket off the back of a chair, slipped into it, then the pair of them moved out toward the back of the house, then down onto the beach.

Lily put her hands in her jacket pockets to avoid the possibility of holding Scott's hand. It wasn't that she was repulsed by him, rather she cared for him a lot still, but not in the way he thought she did, and holding his hand would just be one more little thing to add to the list of ways she strung him on and hurt him.

Once they'd moved a little way down the beach, with Scott talking about plans for visiting Napa during winter break.

"Michael mentioned that Melanie said her parents were letting her invite her friends to their place in Napa–," Scott was saying when Lily cut him off.

"Scott, we need to talk," Lily said quietly.

"Those words are never good," Scott said slowly. "Please tell me you're not pregnant."

"No, I'm not pregnant," Lily answered, cringing. "But I do need to tell you some things, and you're not going to like what I have to say."

Scott merely looked warily at her, so Lily pushed on.

"I'm not sure how to say this really, or where to start, but I guess I'll just start with that fight you and I had, right after you guys won the first match in the playoffs," Lily began. "You confronted me about Liam, and I told you there was nothing to worry about. I lied, I was wrong, I was lying to myself. I'd started to become interested in him, but I was pushing it aside because I still wanted to be with you, I was choosing you. Then, after that, I don't know how it happened really, but no matter how I tried, I kept being more drawn to Liam. Then a few weeks ago, I let him kiss me, or maybe I kissed him. Whatever the case, we kissed, and I wanted to."

During Lily's little monologue, Scott's face had shown various emotions, starting with concern, then moving to sadness, the eventually full blown anger.

"What the hell were you thinking Lily?" Scott yelled angrily. "You cheated on me? You lied to me? You decided to settle for me, then cheated on me!"

"Scott, please! I never meant to cheat on you, and I didn't let it go on. I told him that I needed time to think, that I needed space," Lily told him tearfully.

"Time to think about what?" Scott asked coldly.

"About what I wanted," Lily answered.

"Oh? And what would that be then?" Scott questioned icily.

"I thought about it for ages, believe me it wasn't easy, I felt so guilty and awful, but I couldn't see any other way around it. I didn't want to talk to you until I was sure about what I felt, because that would've just probably ended up hurting you more," Lily began in explanation. "I still love you Scott, but I'm not in love with you. I don't know when it happened, but it did."

"And how long have you known this?" Scott asked heatedly.

"Pretty much a couple of weeks now," Lily admitted ashamedly.

"But you're only just talking to me about this now? After everything you've done to me, you couldn't just tell me, instead of continuing to string me on? The last few weeks of our relationship have been a lie. How do I know that the rest of it wasn't?" Scott questioned, his voice raised in anger.

"It wasn't Scott! You know it wasn't!" Lily cried, her tone pleading.

"I don't know what I know anymore," Scott said in frustration. "And what does Liam know? Have you talked to him?"

"Yes," Lily admitted quietly.

"When?" Scott asked, his voice harsh.

"Last weekend," Lily told him honestly.

"A week ago Lily? You told him, the guy you cheated on me with, before you bothered to tell me about how you feel?" Scott questioned, even more enraged. "What exactly did you tell him?"

"I told him that I wasn't in love with you anymore. I told him that I needed to find the right time to talk to you, and that nothing could happen between us before that, because I owed you more than that," Lily said brokenly, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. "I know I've made a complete screw up of things Scott, and I know you probably hate me now, but that's not what I wanted, not ever. I don't want to lose you from my life, but I'll understand if you don't want me in your life anymore."

"So you're breaking up with me?" Scott asked, quietly. "Not begging to save our relationship? I don't know about later, but for now, you've lost me."

"Scott!" Lily exclaimed, the tears flowing freely now.

"What are you crying about? I'm the one who's had his heart broken. You're breaking up with me so you can be with Liam, the guy that everyone thinks you should be with anyway. Why pretend you're actually upset about this, your actions clearly show that you don't really care about me, not anymore," Scott told her coldly.

"Scott, that's not fair! I know I've given you no reason to be fair to me, but if you'd just listened to what I've said today you'd know none of that was true. Well, except for the fact I'm breaking up with you," Lily finished with a sniff.

"Well, I had actually gathered that part," Scott said in a humourless tone. "I just need some time now Lily. You've hurt me really badly, and I need time to think things through. I guess, I hope you're happy with what you've got, even if you've destroyed my happiness," Scott finished bitterly.

With that Scott turned and strode off up the beach and back towards the Kane home. Lily watched him go, then sat down in the sand, not wanting to go back and explain things to her dad.

Lily pulled her cell out, dialled a number put her cell to her ear.

"Lily?" Liam greeted from the other end.

"Hi Liam," Lily said tearfully.

"Are you alright?" Liam asked, immediately concerned.

"I don't know. Not really. But I guess I will be," Lily replied confusingly.

"What happened?" Liam asked anxiously.

"I talked to Scott just then, told him everything," Lily told him. "It was pretty bad. He's really angry, and I hurt him a lot. I knew it would be that way, but it's still worse going through it."

"Do you need me to come over?" Liam asked gently.

"I don't need you to, I might want you to, but you shouldn't," Lily answered. "I was mainly calling you to let you know what happened, because I don't know what Scott is planning on doing. I don't know if he'll confront you, or who he'll tell, so I just wanted you to be prepared."

"Okay. Thanks Lily, I'll be alright," Liam told her reassuringly. "Just take care of yourself, that's all that's important."

"Thanks Liam," Lily replied. "I'll talk to you later, bye."

"Merry Christmas Lily," Liam said in farewell.

Lily hung up the phone and said desolately, to the rolling waves, "Merry Christmas."

_But you'll always be my hero_

Lily eventually got up off the sand, wiped her cheeks, and walked back home.

Duncan was waiting for her in the kitchen.

"Lily, is everything alright?" Duncan asked in concern. "Scott came through here about half an hour ago, he seemed pretty angry."

"I broke up with him," Lily said in explanation, thinking tiredly that she'd have to tell quite a few more people that within the next week.

"Did you two have a fight?" Duncan asked slowly, evidently trying to piece together what had happened.

"We did fight, but mainly about why I was breaking up with him," Lily answered. "Daddy, do you mind if we don't talk about it anymore? I'm going to be alright, I just need some space, and it's Christmas, I just want to try and enjoy it."

"Sure," Duncan agreed quickly, deciding that he'd talk more to Lily later, or better still, have Veronica talk to her. "Have you and Eva got all the presents ready to take to the Echolls' tonight?" Duncan asked, moving on to their plans for the evening.

"Pretty well," Lily replied with a smile. "Is it okay if I go over to Keira's, just for a little while?"

Duncan nodded understandingly, and Lily went upstairs to get her purse, calling Keira on the way.

"Keira?" Lily said, when her friend picked up.

"Lil, are you alright?" Keira asked, immediately noticing the tremor in Lily's voice.

"Are you busy? Can I drop in?" Lily asked, side stepping the question.

"Sure, we're not leaving for Nana and Pop's for a couple of hours," Keira answered.

"I'll be right over then," Lily replied, then she hung up. She let herself out the front and got into her BWM.

When she arrived at Keira's she got out of the car and rang the doorbell. Keira opened it a few minute later, and Lily's eyes filled with tears.

"Lily! What's the matter?" Keira exclaimed in shock. She pulled Lily inside and into her arms and hugged her.

Lily tears starting flowing freely, then she was soon sobbing, finally letting out all the emotional stress from the last month. Keira just kept hugging her and patting her back.

When Lily had stopped crying as much Keira said, "Come on, we'll go up to my room and we can talk."

They snuggled into Keira's bed together and Keira produced a block of chocolate from a drawer next to her bed.

"I broke up with Scott," Lily divulged quietly.

"You did what?" Keira exclaimed, shocked.

"I broke up with him," Lily reiterated.

"Why? What's been going on? Why haven't you been talking to me about any of it?" Keira asked.

"You're not going to be very happy with me Keira," Lily said sadly. "Scott's really angry with me, and hell, I'm pretty upset with myself."

"Just tell me Lily, no matter what you've done, you're still my best friend," Keira said softly.

"I broke up with Scott because I'm not in love with him anymore, and it's not just that. I'm falling for someone else, and I kissed them, or I let him kiss me. Anyway, I cheated on Scott. I didn't plan to, it wasn't sordid and premeditated, but it happened," Lily explained.

"Is it Liam?" Keira asked astutely, no reproach in her tone.

"Yes," Lily admitted. "I don't know how it even happened Keira!"

"I do," Keira replied.

"You do?" Lily asked, stunned.

"Yes," Keira answered. "You're my best friend, and I notice these things. I hadn't been sure or anything, but now that you've told me this, it's pretty obvious to me."

"You going to tell me then?" Lily asked.

"Well, Liam use to be a jackass to you, but then he changed, because **you **asked him to. Then you became friends, and he was completely charming to you, and made an effort to make up for his behaviour. And let's face it, he's very hot. You started spending a lot of time together, then I guess one thing led to another, and your friendship became something more," Keira rationalised.

"It became something more than what I felt for Scott," Lily said sadly. "I never wanted it to happen, I still love Scott, and he'll always be my first real love, but I couldn't stay with him, not when I realised that I wanted to be with Liam."

"I don't know how I would've handled things Lil, but I think you did the right thing in the end," Keira told her. "You made mistakes, and you'll pay for them. I don't know what the others will think, but you're Lily Kane, and he's Liam Armistead, so I don't think anyone, besides Scott, will be mad for too long."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you until now," Lily said in response. "I didn't want to put you in a difficult place with Ethan, and I needed time to think things over for myself. Thank you for being here for me now."

"Always," Keira said, hugging Lily again.

"Oh Keira, I know choosing Liam was what I needed to do for me, but I don't want to lose Scott, not completely," Lily said sadly.

"I don't think you will Lil," Keira replied. "Don't worry about it for now. You've got enough to think about now, what with Liam, and it's Christmas!"

"Yeah, you're right. In fact, I should go home. You've got to go out, and so do I," Lily remarked.

Keira walked downstairs with Lily and hugged her goodbye, the two girls holding tightly to one another briefly.

"Love you Keira," Lily said.

"Love you too Lil," Keira replied. "And Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too," Lily returned, and this time, her sentiments were genuine. At least through everything, her best friend was there for her.

**AN: I'd love to hear what you thought of the break up, so please review :)**


	19. Chapter 19 Shake it out

**AN: Hi, first off, to answer a guest review about another story, I'm not sure which one you're referring to. Is it a multi chapter fic or a one shot? I can't work out which one you mean from the info you gave, but I'd like to help if I can! To everyone else, hope you enjoy this chapter, and thanks to those who've been reviewing, it's much appreciated by me!**

Chapter 19 – Shake it out

_Regrets collect like old friends…I've been a fool and I've been blind_

Lily passed through the Christmas celebrations as cheerfully as she could, but the freshness of her break up with Scott weighed keenly on her. She had only told Keira what had happened, not wanting to tell her other friends during the holiday break. If she had the rumour mill would have had far too much time to create wild stories by the time school returned. She hadn't heard anything from Scott since he left her on the beach, and she'd only spoken briefly with Liam. Apart from the Christmas celebrations limiting the time she had to spend with friends, Lily wanted some space before things progressed with Liam. She needed time to process her break up, even though it had been coming for some time. The actual event had been almost more emotionally distressing than the process she went through before she decided to break up with Scott.

A few days after Christmas Lily was at the Echolls', eating leftover baked goods with Veronica.

"Lily, sweetheart," Veronica began. "You still look so miserable. Is anything else the matter?"

"What, you mean besides how I made a whole lot of stupid mistakes and broke Scott's heart?" Lily asked rhetorically, sarcasm dripping off her words. "No, not really."

Lily had let Veronica and the others know that she'd broken up with Scott when they'd arrived for dinner on Christmas Eve. She hadn't wanted to dampen their celebrations, but it had been necessary, so that they'd understand her mood, and so that they wouldn't ask about Scott.

They had all been sympathetic, but no one had dwelled on the matter, partially as they sensed Lily didn't want to talk about it, and partially because it didn't really fit in with the spirit of Christmas.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Veronica asked gently.

"I don't know Aunt Ronica. I don't want you to hate me," Lily said sadly, very caught up in her own misery of the last few weeks.

"Lily, I will never hate you, and I wrote the book on making mistakes in love," Veronica told her with a smile. "I won't push you to talk, but I will be here if you want to."

Lily heaved a great sigh and replied, "Well, I know I told you that I broke up with Scott, but I didn't tell you, any of you why. Mainly because it's not a very pretty story, and I'm the one in the wrong."

"Okay," Veronica said slowly.

"I broke up with him for another boy, because I kissed that other boy, and I figured out I wasn't in love with Scott anymore," Lily began.

Lily told Veronica in depth all of the complicated details of her love life from the past couple months.

Once she'd finished Veronica said, "I guess history sometimes repeats itself, in some ways. You're not the first person to make mistakes when sorting out your feelings in a love triangle."

"So you don't hate me?" Lily asked hopefully.

"Of course not you goose," Veronica said affectionately. "I don't think you should've kissed Liam. And you probably didn't make the wisest choices when you thought you started falling for him, but really, you know enough about my love life in high school to know that I won't judge you on any of this."

"Thanks Aunt Ronica," Lily said gratefully.

"Now, I want you to listen to me about one last thing," Veronica added. "I know you feel badly now. You screwed up, and you know it, and you can't let it ruin the rest of your senior year. A new year is about to start, start it fresh. If you really want to be with Liam, then work hard at it, make it count. You're Lily Kane, just because some things come easily to you doesn't mean that you don't need to work for others."

Lily slipped off her chair and moved over to Veronica, putting her arms around her. "Thank you Aunt Veronica," Lily said sincerely. "You're right, and I will try. I love you," and with that she pressed a kiss to Veronica's cheek and sat back down to continue eating her slice of apple pie.

_So I like to keep my issues drawn_

New Year's Eve found the 09er crowd at the Turner's place, Sophie had offered to host the annual party as her parents where overseas. Lily hadn't spoke to Scott since their break up, nor had she heard anything from her other friends about it, so she assumed that he'd been keeping the information to himself.

Lily entered the house alone, not a normality for her, seeing as she was usual accompanied by Scott, and failing him, a girlfriend. However seeing as it was New Year's Eve, all of her friends were with their boyfriends. Lily had been a little nervous about turning up to the party without a date, but she pushed her fears aside, she was Lily Kane, no one would question her actions, much. She hoped they'd all be too drunk in the end to focus on any details of her love life that might emerge. She had to move on, and enjoy herself like Veronica had said, she couldn't sit around moping.

She hadn't made any plans with Liam to go to the party together, it was too soon, and she wanted to avoid hurting Scott any further than she had if she could help it. She had naturally agreed to see Liam during the evening, she wasn't ignoring him, she just wasn't rushing into a relationship with him.

Lily walked through the house, looking for her friends. The party was already in full swing, and people were thoroughly drunk already. They returned to school on Wednesday, New Year's Eve being a Sunday, and midterms were to be held not long after that, so people were taking the chance to party hard.

"Lily!" Mia's voice called.

Lily turned around and cried in return, "Mia!"

The two girls hugged, then when they stepped back Mia said, "Lily, you look amazing! I love your dress."

"Thanks Mia, you're a darling," Lily replied.

Lily was wearing the green, patterned Alexander McQueen dress that she'd bought before Christmas with Eva. With it she wore black glittery pumps, her usual L necklace, a large green cocktail ring, and Logan's birthday emeralds. The emeralds were perfectly showed off by Lily's hairstyle. She was wearing a large, high bun, it was sitting nearly on the very top of her head.

"Where's Scott? Is he here?" Mia asked curiously.

"I don't know," Lily replied. "I don't know if he's coming or what."

"Did you two have a fight?" Mia questioned in concern.

"Something like that," Lily replied vaguely. "Let's not talk about it now though. I'll tell you about it later."

"Sure," Mia agreed easily, it was too good a night to focus on problems.

Mia and Lily moved off, Mia to find Jim, Lily to find Keira. She found her dancing with Ethan. Lily moved onto the dance floor and began to dance too.

"Hey Lil!" Keira said loudly above the pumping music.

Lily smiled then leaned over to speak more quietly into Keira's ear, "Do you know if Scott will be here."

Keira shook her head then replied, "I'll find out."

"Thanks," Lily mouthed, as they continued to dance.

A few dances later Lily left in search of a drink, and as she found one she also found Sophie.

"Hey Soph! Great party," Lily greeted, pressing a kiss to her friend's cheek.

"Thanks! You look super hot by the way," Sophie replied.

Lily smiled and thanked her. She was use to her friends admiration, they were never lacking in praise, but Lily was able to tell when she looked particularly stunning. Everyone tended to stop and stare, and her friends were more effusive in their remarks. She was getting this reaction tonight, and if people knew that she was technically single, it would get worse. She wanted to avoid such a ruckus at all costs, so she moved off with her drink to see what Keira had found out.

"He will be here, but only briefly, and later on," Keira told her, once Lily had located her. "Ethan knows you two aren't together anymore," Keira continued, "but he's not saying anything about it to anyone. He said that Scott isn't ready for everyone to know yet, he's just bracing himself for school, so you don't need to worry about seeing him tonight.

"But won't people think it's weird we're not together tonight," Lily fretted.

"Relax, have a few more drinks," Keira replied. "Everyone here is too wasted to really care who's with who, even if you are the great Lily Kane!"

This earned her a weak smile from Lily, who then took her advice and went in search of another drink. She ran into Melanie and Michael on her way, stopped briefly to speak with them, then continued on to get a drink. She passed a room where people were dancing and noticed Olivia, dancing sluttily with a footballer. She shook her head, just grateful that it wasn't Liam.

Lily found the bar, obtained an unopened drink, then turned around to see Liam standing in front of her.

He smiled widely at her, then kissed her cheek tenderly.

"Hey," Lily said softly. "We should go somewhere were we can talk more privately."

"Do I need to be worried," Liam asked, suddenly concerned.

"No, no," Lily reassured him quickly. "Just some more sensitive matters that we need to discuss."

They moved out the back where it was quieter, and found a seat in the shadows.

"What's with the secrecy?" Liam asked in amusement.

"No one here, except Keira and Ethan know that Scott and are have broken up, and Scott isn't here yet," Lily explained. "We're not telling people tonight, we're just going to let them find out as they will at school."

"Okay," Liam replied slowly. "Where does that leave us?"

"Well for tonight, it means that there will be no open affection, we're not together," Lily answered gently. "I care about you, and want us to be together, but it can't be tonight. I'm not ready yet, and we can't do that to Scott, flaunt our feelings in his face, it's not right."

"I get it," Liam said understandingly. "When do you think you will be ready?"

"I'll be ready to face the lions when we go back to school, I guess," Lily replied.

"Sounds good to me then," Liam stated. "But what about my midnight kiss?"

Lily giggled, enjoying the sensation. "If you're a good boy, we might be able to find a quiet and dark corner."

"I love quiet and dark corners," Liam said reverently. "In fact, I am very sorry for questioning your need for secrecy before."

Lily giggled again then said playfully, "Yes, please try to remember that I am full of good ideas."

Liam checked their surroundings, then seeing no one looking, leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to Lily's lips. It wasn't deep, but it still left her tingling, and more importantly, wanting more.

_And I'm damned if I do, and I'm damned if I don't_

Lily sat in her car in the parking lot at Neptune High. She had only pulled up moments ago, and was busy bracing herself for the chaotic day that was sure to come. Deciding that no matter how long she sat in her car she couldn't avoid the consequences of her actions, so she got out of the car and walked into school and headed straight for her locker.

As she stood at her locker, twirling her combination, Liam came up next to her and leaned on the locker nearest hers.

"Hey Lil," Liam said cheerfully, kissing her cheek.

She smiled at him, thankful that he was playing it safe. "Hey yourself," she returned.

"How do you want to play today?" Liam asked.

"Well, I haven't told my friends yet, except Keira, so I'll find them before the bell rings, let them know, then I guess all hell will break lose, and you can hold my hand through it all," Lily remarked, making sure she kept her tone light. If she didn't, everything would become too much and she'd have no chance of making through the day with her sanity intact.

"Sounds good," Liam replied. "I'll see you later then." With that he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and wandered off through the halls, bumping fists with a view football teammates.

Lily grabbed what she needed, then turned and trotted off to find her friends. Conveniently she found them grouped around Melanie's locker, Jim and Chris standing with them as well.

"Shoo boys," Lily ordered cheerfully. "We'll see you later."

Jim and Chris looked on in amusement and Jim said, "Oh you think we'll just leave like that?"

"Yeah, I really do," Lily retorted cheekily.

The boys shook their heads, but walked off anyway, kissing their girlfriends quickly.

"What's up Lil?" Sophie asked curiously.

The other girls looked curious too, except for Keira, who stood there looking knowing.

"I need to tell you something before we get started back into school," Lily began. "Scott and I broke up just before Christmas. We haven't been telling people because we wanted to keep it quiet as long as possible."

"What?" Melanie exclaimed.

"Oh," Mia added dumbly, thinking back to their chat on New Year's Eve.

"Lily!" Sophie cried, dismayed.

"Look, we'll talk more about it later," Lily told them. "Now we need to get to class though. I just wanted you all to know before the rumour mill got to work. I don't know what Scott will be saying to people, but I'd advise you not to believe anything you hear, unless it's straight from me or Scott."

The girls nodded, looking a little shell-shocked, but they all moved off to homeroom.

By lunch time word had spread, as it is apt to do, that Lily and Scott were no longer together. People had noticed the complete distance they were keeping from one another. Even though their friends hadn't gone gossiping to outsiders, people had still overheard whispered conversations.

As Lily walked down the hall on her way to lunch, she watched people openly staring at her. This time instead of admiring her, she was sure they were judging her to some degree or another.

She kept walking, wondering where Liam was, she had been serious about him holding her hand through it all, and she thought he'd known it. Even though them being together so soon would add fuel to the fire, Lily figured she might has well get all the drama over with in one shot. Getting together with Liam later would just keep the gossip alive longer.

"I heard he dumped her for an underwear model," one girl excitedly said to her friend.

"Apparently she dumped him because she's been seeing Louis Tomlinson," another girl told her friends.

"Well I was told that he broke up with her, and that she's been crying for days about it," somebody else speculated.

Lily cringed at the wild rumours, deciding that she preferred them to the truth for the time being.

Just as she reached the courtyard Liam came up behind her and took her hand in his.

"Ready?" he asked her.

"Ready," Lily replied, smiling resolutely.

"So, I heard that you broke up with Scott for an Olympic swimmer," Liam mused conversationally.

"Really? That's an interesting one," Lily replied with a laugh. "My favourite rumour is that my dad make me break up with Scott so that he can set me up with the son of a Saudi oil heir, global connections and whatnot."

"Well, I think we've got about thirty seconds until the rumours get closer to the truth," Liam told her seriously.

"Bring it on!" Lily exclaimed with a fist pump.

Liam shook his head and said, "So, let me guess, you became a cheer leader after watching all those _Bring it on_ movies a hundred times, didn't you?"

Lily laughed and they sat down at Lily's usual table. Keira sat down with them, and Ethan remained standing at her side. Keira sitting with them to show her support for her best friend.

Ethan leaned down and kissed Keira, then quickly said something quietly in her ear, then moving off to another table where Scott was sitting with Jim and Mia.

Lily nodded understandingly, Ethan was one of Scott's closest friends, so she expected him to support him. It wasn't like people needed to take sides, there wasn't an enormous feud going on, or she hoped there wouldn't be. It was just natural for people to support there friends when drama happened.

Sophie sat down at Lily's table as well, accompanied by Chris. Josh also sat down on Liam's other side.

"Hey babe, I think people know," Liam said in a loud whisper.

Lily hit him lightly and said, "Laugh now, idiot!"

"I guess we were right Lily," Sophie said, referring to the talks they'd had about Liam being interested in her.

"Not now Soph," Lily said quietly, but not sternly.

"So, you two?" Chris asked conversationally.

Lily and Liam both smiled, slightly awkwardly, and Liam slipped his arm around Lily's waist for support.

"Cool," Chris continued, accepting the change easily. "So, how evil was Mrs Kelshaw in Biology?"

"Complete bitch," Keira agreed. "I don't know what her problem is!"

"I'd have to guess, seeing as I don't share that class with you guys, but it's probably because midterms are about to begin and you two haven't studied much," Lily said teasingly.

Keira threw a stick of carrot from her salad at Lily, who dodged, and they went back to their conversation, determinedly ignoring the rest of the school who were, for the most part, staring at Lily and Liam. The rumours went into overdrive, especially as they now concerned the 09er king **and** queen.

_Cause, looking for heaven, found the devil in me_

As Lily and Liam walked out of school together, Liam said, "Come on, let's go to the beach, you look like you need a time out."

"And it's only the first day back after Christmas break," Lily commented wryly. "That sounds great though. How about my beach?"

"Our beach," Liam corrected gently.

"Aw, who would've guessed that you were a romantic," Lily cooed teasingly.

"Quiet Kane, or the romance ends here," Liam joked.

"People who refer to me as Kane don't get to kiss me," Lily said sternly, her eyes twinkling.

"I'll be good my beautiful Lily, I promise," Liam cried, pretending to cower.

"I'll see you at my place, you big idiot," Lily told him, getting into her car.

Lily and Liam made their way down the beach from the Kane's house and sat down in the sand, Liam's arms around Lily.

"So, as far as I can tell, a quarter of the school hates me, a quarter of it hates you, and the other half think that the 09er king and queen **should** be together," Lily remarked.

"Awesome," Liam replied dryly. "I don't really care what they think though, never have. I only care what you think now, and our friends too, I suppose."

"You're right," Lily said.

"Don't sound so surprised!" Liam exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound that way," Lily apologised. "It's just, I'm not use to having people hate me, or even really dislike me. I never use to be able to do any wrong, in anybody's eyes, and now it's different, and I'm not sure I like it."

"Of course you don't like it, but you know I'm right, you have to ignore them. It's only about us, and about what our friends think, and your family too," Liam told her.

"Thank you," Lily said, twisting and placing a kiss on his lips.

Liam deepened their kiss and they spent a pleasant hour together on the beach.

When Liam left the Kane house Lily looked a lot happier and relaxed, and definitely, thoroughly kissed.

Liam drove back to his house, completely happy for the first time in a while. As he drove down his street he noticed a couple of cars parked outside of his house. He pulled into his driveway, and watched with a little concern and Scott got out of his car and walked up to where Liam was standing. He was accompanied by Ethan and Jim.

"We need to talk Armistead," Scott said seriously.

**AN: Thanks for reading! Please review :) I'm not entirely sure where I'm going from here, so if you have any suggestions please go ahead and add them to a review!**


	20. Chapter 20 If this was a movie

**AN: Hello, so I overlooked the baskeball season briefly, so I don't think I've quite slottted it into the calendar correctly, but oh well! Also, if anyone was wondering, I'd always imagined Lily to look something like Candice Accola.**

**And, about that story, I don't recall having read it, and I couldn't find it through searches, so it's possible it's been deleted. Sorry I couldn't be more help :) Hope you're enjoying this though!**

**On with the story :)**

Chapter 20 – If this was a movie

_I know people change and these things happen_

"We need to talk Armistead," Scott said seriously, Ethan and Jim standing behind him.

"Okay," Liam said, resigned to his fate, hoping their confrontation wouldn't come to blows, it wouldn't make Lily happy.

Unfortunately Scott threw a punch at Liam, catching him on the right side of his jaw. It sent him reeling backwards, but he quickly pulled himself together and stood upright again.

"Look, the first one's free, but if you hit me again, I'm going to hit back," Liam said warningly.

"Oh, the first one's free is it? Thanks, you're a real pal," Scott said sarcastically. "You apparently thought my girlfriend was free for the taking as well."

He aimed another swing at Liam, but he was ready for it and ducked out of the way.

"Look, I'm sorry, we were both wrong," Liam said sincerely. "It shouldn't of happened, but you can't blame Lily."

"Oh, I can," Scott retorted. "But mostly, I'm blaming you."

"I'm sorry, we're both sorry, but there's nothing more either of us can do about it," Liam told Scott earnestly, as Ethan and Jim looked on.

"You're sorry, are you? Well I guess that's all that matters then," Scott said sardonically. "Actually, no, that's not all that matters. Do you know how shit school was for me today? By the end of the day I was just some 09er that Lily Kane dumped for you. I put up with all those rumours and didn't say anything. I left Lily alone, and I left you alone up until now. But I can't let you get away without any consequences."

Scott hit out at Liam again, who hit back, parrying off the attack.

"Scott! Look, I fucked up, but I just can't do anything more than say I'm sorry. Fighting isn't going to do us any good," Liam said, his voice stressing his point.

"Oh, nice to see you've turned into some that the great Lily Kane would want to be with," Scott said with a mirthless laugh. "To think I sat by naively, encouraging her to be friends with you, watching you get closer, and not really recognising the signs. I confronted her and chose to accept her denial, we were both in denial. I was a fool."

"Scott, I'm sorry, it sucks, but I can't do anything about the past. I will do everything to make the rumours stop, or that they don't involve you," Liam said sincerely. "I don't want this to ruin all our friendship for the rest of the year," Liam added. "I get that you need time, but just think about it."

"Yeah, right," Scott said harshly. "Good luck with that. We're going now."

With that he turned and left, Ethan and Jim following him, both looking uneasy. Ethan was Scott's friend first and foremost, but Liam was his captain, and he was still his friend. Jim didn't want to pick sides, but when Scott had asked him to accompany him, he couldn't say no.

Liam got back in his car and drove straight back to Lily's.

When he knocked on the door she opened it a few moments later.

"Liam, I have homework and cheer–. Liam! What happened?" Lily asked, after noticing his face.

"Ah, Scott happened," Liam told her with a little grimace.

"What?" Lily cried.

"He came over, expressed his feelings, on my jaw. We had a little chat, and he brought Ethan and Jim along to referee if necessary. Or maybe to help beat me up," Liam explained musingly.

"Is it very sore?" Lily asked in concern.

"Some," Liam answered, brushing it off.

Lily took his hand and said, "Come with me. We'll put some ice on it."

"I don't need to be babied," Liam protested.

"But I want to baby you," Lily countered. "Besides, I won't have as much time for you in the afternoon after tomorrow, seeing as cheer practice starts again. Plus you know we have games every week, starting this Friday."

"I know, and I could've played to keep fit, and be near you, but I can still spend time with you and have the season off," Liam replied. "Besides, I'll be able to keep a **much** better eye on you from the stands."

Following this lecherous remark, Liam moved Lily's hand, and the ice pack it held, away from his jaw, and moved in to capture her lips with his.

After returning his kiss for a few minutes Lily pulled back and said, "Liam, it's not the time, I have work to do, and if you're alright, you should head home."

"Can I kiss my girlfriend," Liam countered playfully.

"Girlfriend?" Lily questioned, eyebrow raised. "Is that what I am?"

"So you're going to be coy about this," Liam remarked, amused.

"I haven't been asked to be anyone's girlfriend recently," Lily said airily.

Liam smothered a smirk, then assumed a serious face. "Lily Kane, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Of course," Lily answered, kissing him quickly. "Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Liam grimaced and in reply Lily said, "Liam, it wasn't hard, don't be a jerk!"

"I wasn't babe!" Liam protested. "You grabbed my jaw when you kissed me, it still hurts," he explained with a pout.

Lily swallowed her giggles, amused at her boyfriend's not-so-macho behaviour. "I'm sorry you're in pain sweetie. I can't believe Scott hit you. I know I hurt him, but he I never would have thought he'd get violent. He was never violent," Lily finished sadly.

"I deserved to be hit," Liam said. "No, don't protest. I'm not sorry we're together, but I am sorry we hurt Scott, he's a good guy."

"I guess so," Lily replied, not convinced. "Anyway, time for you to go, I'll see you tomorrow."

She led him to the door, and at the door he stopped, pulled her close and kissed her thoroughly, leaving her cheeks flushed.

Liam didn't hold back his smirk and said, "I'll see **you** tomorrow."

Lily nodded mutely, her powers of speech momentarily gone.

Liam left, and Lily returned to her homework and reworking routines for the basketball season.

_But I remember how it was back then_

"Come on girls, get it together!" Lily yelled, calling them to attention. "You had a good break over the last few weeks, but we have a game to cheer at tomorrow, so pay attention please."

They spent their afternoon practice session revising their routines from the football season and by the end of the time they were polished enough for the basketball season that started the next afternoon.

Once Lily got in her car after practice she pulled out her cell and dialled a number.

"Hey babe," Liam greeted her.

"Hey handsome," Lily returned flirtatiously. The becoming serious she said, "Look, I know I was going to meet you at your house after practice, but I have to do something first."

"Okay," he replied. "What do you have to do exactly?" Liam asked warily.

"You're not going to like it," Lily said nervously.

"Damn straight I'm not!" Liam replied. "You're going to see Scott, aren't you?"

"I need to talk to him about what he did to you," Lily answered. "We can't go on, angry with one another. He and I need to deal with our remaining issue."

"I don't want you going near him Lily, he was pretty pissed off yesterday. I mean, he punched me!" Liam protested.

"Liam, he wasn't always that way. In fact, he was never that way, and especially not with me. It's my fault that he's angry, and I need to try to fix things, and I don't mean our relationship, but our friendship," Lily countered.

"Fine," Liam allowed. "But if you're not at my house in forty-five minutes I'm coming to Scott's to get you."

"Thank you," Lily said in relief. "I just think I need to do this so you and I can move on, and so Scott can move on."

"I get it," Liam replied. "I'll see you soon, beautiful."

Lily hung up with a smile at her boyfriend's words. Her smile quickly faded to a grimace as she remembered that she was on her way to her ex-boyfriend's house, to try and sort out things with him.

At the Hunter place Lily got out of her car, walked to the door and knocked. Scott opened the door, saw her, his face contorted with anger and pain and quickly moved the close the door again.

Lily moved forward quickly and said imploringly, "Scott, wait, please!"

"What is it?" Scott asked irritably.

"Can, we talk, please?" Lily asked gently.

"I don't know that there's all that much to say," Scott answered with hostility.

"I think there is actually," Lily replied. "So can I please come in?"

"Fine," Scott relented tiredly.

Lily walked through the door and moved into the living room and sat down. Scott followed her, but remained standing.

As Scott stood there, he looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to start talking.

Lily thought quickly, and decided that apologising first off wouldn't be the best tactic. She decided that softening him up would probably be a good start instead.

"Do you remember how it use to be?" Lily began reminiscently. "Everything was easy, fun, happy. Long walks on the beach, hot make out sessions while our parents were out."

"Yeah, I remember, how could I forget?" Scott replied, sitting down as well. "I remember, but I didn't think you did, or that you cared."

"Oh Scott, I care, I'll always care. It was all important to me, and I'm sorry we ended up the way we did, and it was my fault, not yours. It's my fault that you're hurt and that you punched Liam," Lily told him sincerely.

"God, I'm sorry I did that. I hate what I've become, this guy who's angry all the time, but I know that if I'm not angry I'll just be upset and sad, and I don't want to be weak," Scott said brokenly.

"If you don't want to be angry anymore, or sad, then maybe if you forgive me, you can move on. I still want us to be friends, but if you can't deal with that, then I accept that. I just want you to be happy again," Lily replied.

"Lil, I can't just go from angry and hurt to being friends with you. Maybe some time in the future, but not yet. I guess I want to forgive you, but I don't know how," Scott explained. "I don't know how to see you with Liam and not want to hit him, or cry, or both. I don't know how to just stop loving you."

"That's the thing about love, it just doesn't stop, but it can change. I still love you, I'm just not in love with you anymore. I know that you'll get over me, I'm special, but I'm not that special," Lily said, trying to lighten the situation with humour.

"True," Scott allowed, with a small grin.

"I know I've said it before, but I want to say it again, and I want you to know I mean it, really. I'm so sorry I hurt you, I never wanted for it to happen, and if I could do it over again I wouldn't hurt you the way I did. I guess I was scared, and selfish and stupid, and now, I'm sorry," Lily earnestly.

"Thanks Lily, for saying it again, and putting it like that. I must admit I was too hurt and angry to take in your apology on the beach," Scott owned. "I get it, or at least I'm trying to, and I'll keep trying to, for all our sakes. Would you mind going now though? I need a bit of space to process everything. I promise I'll try to do be so angry anymore, you're right it's not me. Thanks for making me talk to you, really."

"Sure," Lily replied. "Anytime. I guess I'll see you around."

Scott gave her a small smile and a slight nod, then Lily stood up and let herself out. Once outside she released a great sigh, relieved that the encounter was over, and grateful that it had gone well, or as well as could have been expected.

Lily arrived at Liam's and he met her at the door. He kissed her in greeting then pretended to look down at his watch, then said, "Just in time, you had three minutes to spare!"

"Idiot, I was fine," Lily replied playfully.

"Where you?" Liam asked seriously.

"Yes, I was. I think he's going to be alright now. Not immediately though, but we talked through things properly," Lily answered. "Now, I've got fifteen minutes before I need to get home for dinner, thoughts?"

Liam leered at her, then kissed her furiously, pushing her up against a wall. Lily slid her arms around his neck and returned his kisses enthusiastically.

_Locked up in your arms and our friends are laughing, cause nothing like this ever happened to them_

On Friday morning when Lily and Liam, hands intertwined, passed Scott in the hallway, Lily smiled tentatively at Scott, and he gave her a slight nod in acknowledgement. It wasn't complete repair of their friendship, but it was a step in the right direction. A step that was noticed by several other students in the hallway, and before lunch time they'd managed to spread the word around thoroughly. Lily Kane was still with Liam Armistead, but Scott Turner seemed to be alright with it now.

As the students poured out to the lunch area, they noticed that most of the 09ers, Lily's crowd, were cramped onto two lunch tables that were next together, and it appeared that they were all having lunch together, as they had frequently done when Lily and Scott were together. Now of course, Lily was sitting with Liam, and Scott was sitting as far away from them as possible.

Scott had decided that they only way he'd be able to get use to Lily being with Liam, and to get over her, was to spend time around them. If he didn't, he would try to remain in denial, and that wasn't good for him at all. So he acknowledged the new couple in the hallways, and he sat with the group at lunch.

Once they all saw that Scott was sitting with them they assumed that everything had gone back to normal, and they thankfully discontinued their awkward 'I'm-on-your-side' lunches, and sat around, talking, laughing and eating pizza.

"I was trying to study, when I came across this!" Mia announced with a giggle, waving a sheet of paper in front of her friends.

"You were trying to study?" Melanie hooted.

"Shut up Mel! I study, at least for midterms," Mia protested.

"What is it?" Sophie asked in interest.

"It's called '_Eighty things to do in an exam when you think you're going to fail anyway_'," Mia announced. "Some of them are **so** funny, I was laughing for ages."

"Give them here," Jim ordered, holding out his hand.

"No, my find, I get to read them out," Mia retorted, holding the sheets of paper above her head.

Chris moved around and grabbed them from the Mia's hands. "Well, I seem to have them now, so I'm going to read them," Chris teased.

"Chris Tatlock you give them back!" Mia exclaimed.

"Chill Mia," Lily said with a chuckle. "He clearly has nothing better to do to entertain him, so let him read them, if he can pronounce all the big words," Lily taunted.

This had most of her listeners laughing and Chris flipped Lily off with a grin.

"Here you go Mia, you can have them back, read the best ones or something," Chris offered, having finished with his fun.

"Thank you," Mia said, trying to sound haughty, but ending up giggling. "Okay, here we go. Number 9, 'Bring things to throw at the instructor when they're not looking. Blame it on the person nearest to you'."

This had the group chuckling and giggling and Mia continued, "Number 10 'As soon as the instructor hands you the exam, eat it.' Number 13 'Get the exam. 20 min into it, throw your papers down violently, scream out "Fuck this!" and walk out triumphantly.' Number 20 'Bring some large, cumbersome, ugly idol. Put it right next to you. Pray to it often. Consider a small sacrifice.'"

By this point they were all laughing uproariously.

"I'm so trying that last one!" Sophie exclaimed through gales of laughter.

"Quiet, I'm still going!" Mia ordered, fighting back her own giggles. "Number 28 'Every now and then, clap twice rapidly. If the instructor asks why, tell then in a very derogatory tone, "the light bulb that goes on above my head when I get an idea is hooked up to a clapper. DUH!"'

"I can so see you doing that Michael," Ethan chortled.

"Shut up Masters," Michael retorted.

"Number 75! Number 75!" Mia called over the top of their banter. "Number 75 'When the teacher is explaining the rules, walk up and say "Yo Sir, I'm really happy for ya and Imma let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of ALL TIME!"

They all continued to laugh, and Sophie held out her hand, so Mia passed the sheet to her and she and Melanie both looked over the other suggestions.

"I so remember that!" Keira squealed. "Kanye was such a dick to Taylor Swift then!"

As their laughter was subsiding Scott looked over at Lily. She was leaning into Liam who had his arms wrapped around her, they both still were filled with mirth. The scene was painful for Scott and he grimaced. Lily had been laughing into Liam's shirt and then looked up at him, eyes twinkling. Scott cringed and suddenly didn't feel like sitting with his laughing friends anymore. Just as he was about to leave Lily looked over at him and noticed his contorted expression. She looked apologetically at him, then smiled sympathetically. Scott decided not to get up and leave, it would make things more awkward. He could sit through one lunch time.

Lily watched her friends laughing and talking, oblivious to Scott's discomfort, just as she had been up until a few moments before. She knew there wasn't anything she could really do about it, Scott had to come to terms with things on his own. She still felt sorry for him, especially because it was her fault that he was uncomfortable.

"You alright?" Liam asked her quietly, his breath tickling her ear.

"Just thinking," Lily replied softly. "So, is my boyfriend coming to watch me cheer this afternoon?"

"Of course, I'm not going to miss my first opportunity to watch you from the bleachers," Liam replied.

"First time?" Lily asked, eyebrow quirked. "I've been cheering for years, I'm sure you've watched me before."

"Well yeah, but this time I can stare at you all I want," Liam retorted with a leer. "Plus now I'm allowed to beat up other guys who stare at you for too long."

Lily laughed, confident that he was joking about beating people up.

"You think I'm joking," Liam said sternly, his wicked grin betraying his tone.

"Ah, but I know you're joking, because I'm sure you know that there's no more making out for boyfriends who beat up other guys," Lily said playfully.

"Yes dear," Liam said placidly.

Lily pecked him quickly on his lips, then the bell rang and they stood with everyone else, and made their way to their Trig class.

**AN: Please review and let me know what you think :)**


	21. Chapter 21 Girls just wanna have fun

**AN: Personally, I like a good bit of drama, but it's not realistic to have it all the time, so here's a chapter of lighthearted fun. I tried to add some balance to it too, and not have it concentrating on LiLi. Or ScLiLi if you will! **

**Anyhow, thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. To those of you who're just reading, I'd love to know your thoughts too. If people don't review I feel like hardly anyone is interested, and I don't really feel inspired to write. **

**So, DevilJolie, Natskl, , LazzyMaw and Nichole, thanks for reviewing regularly and inspiring me! (Hope you read through all that to get your shout out!) Oh, thanks to all the 'Guest' reviewers too :)**

Chapter 21 – Girls just wanna have fun

_Girls, they want, wanna have fun_

As the buzzer sounded for the end of time the cheerleaders jumped off their seats and started dancing around and cheering. The basketball team also began their own celebrations and the people on the bleachers stood and applauded as well.

Liam made his way down from the bleacher, along with Michael and Ethan to find their girlfriends. Jim and Chris were on the basketball team, so they were already on the court with their girlfriends. Scott hadn't made an appearance, the school day have been more than enough for him to cope with, let alone watching his ex-girlfriend dance around scantily clad.

"You looked great Lil," Liam told her, kissing her quickly.

"Thank you! We only made a few errors, so it's okay. Besides, they won, so who cares!" Lily replied.

"So, is there a party for us to go to tonight?" Liam asked, his arm around her waist.

"Nope, I vetoed the idea of a party. Midterms start on Monday, and even if some of you don't care, I do, and I'll try to make you all work too!" Lily answered cheerfully.

"But Lily," Liam began.

"No buts, there'll be time to party after midterms, I think you'll survive," Lily informed him.

"Fine," Liam agreed his tone still grumbling. "Can we do something tonight?" Liam asked hopefully.

"We'll see," Lily replied vaguely. "I have to go speak to the girls, but I'll find you soon, okay?"

Liam nodded and Lily moved back towards where her team and friends were congregated, talking and laughing. Some of their boyfriends were still hanging around, but cleared off when Lily walked over commandingly.

"Okay girls! Great work out there! We'll only have practice on Wednesday, because of midterms. So study hard, I don't want any of you to fail your midterms, because I'll have to suspend you from cheering, and I know you don't want that," Lily said, addressing the girls. "See you all Monday."

Most of the girls moved off to gather their things, but Keira, Mia, Melanie and Sophie remained. They were Lily's closest friends and the object of envy of most of the girls in school. Besides being pretty and rich, they also seemed to have genuine friendships with one another. Previous 09er groups had been comprised of people searching for more money and popularity, but under the guidance of Lily, most of the 09ers, or at least her friends, were more pleasant and honourable.

Lily looked at her four friends and said in amusement, "What? What are you waiting for? You can all leave when you want now."

"Yes, but we have something we wanted to suggest," Mia explained.

"We know you shut down the idea of a party tonight, or tomorrow," Sophie continued.

"But we thought maybe we could have a slumber party, just us girls," Melanie finished.

"A study slumber party," Keira added, knowing that this idea would appeal more to her studious best friend.

"Well," Lily said, drawing out the word. "I guess that'd be okay, if we really do study."

"Great!" Mia exclaimed.

"Wonderful," Sophie agreed.

"Done," Keira stated happily.

"My house then, tomorrow night?" Melanie asked.

"Okay," Lily replied. "But I swear, we're studying!"

Her friends grinned at her and she turned and went off in search of Liam.

"You lot looked like you were plotting busily," Liam remarked after Lily had rejoined him.

"We're having a slumber party, study style," Lily informed him.

Liam let out a loud laugh.

"What?" Lily asked indignantly.

"Babe, you can't have a slumber party **and **study, I know how you girls work," Liam said, chuckling all the while.

"Well, I plan on studying," Lily insisted.

"I know you will, but I doubt the other four will," Liam astutely predicted. "They'll start giggling, discussing boys, then they'll lure you in, and you'll cave."

Lily huffed, but her eyes twinkled. She knew he was right, but so long as she insisted she was going to study, she could justify the indulgence of a slumber party, two days before midterms.

"I thought we'd been over this before, dear," Lily said teasingly. "You don't know what happens when we have a girls' night!"

"And I thought I told you that it's not hard to work out!" Liam retorted.

"Well, that may be, but perhaps you'd be better off telling me what we're going to do now? I'll give you a few guidelines. I'm hungry, my dad and Eva are home and my curfew is midnight," Lily informed him.

"How about we go back to my place then?" Liam suggested. "My parents are home, but they won't keep an eye on us. So we can watch a movie, or make out, or make out while we watch a movie."

Lily giggled and said, "Provided you supply me with food, I think that could work."

"Any specific requests?" Liam asked.

"Sushi and ice cream," Lily promptly replied.

"It's winter!" Liam exclaimed.

"And we live in California, and besides, ice cream is an important food group, whatever the season. You'd best remember that if you want Aunt Veronica to like you," Lily warned him laughingly.

"I want 'Aunt Veronica' to like me don't I? She's Logan Echolls' wife and like a super spy or something," Liam asked in clarification.

"The one and the same, so yeah, you want her to like you, or you might suddenly become non-existent. Plus, she's already familiar with you, she helped my restyle your Porsche," Lily teased.

"Don't worry, I'll be good," Liam replied. "Now, let's get out of here."

They left the school together, making their way to Liam's place. He had picked Lily up before school that morning in his Porsche. His reasoning was that seeing as he had a girlfriend, he should get to drive her around, at least on the days that he drove his Porsche. Lily had a hard time arguing with that logic.

Once at the Armistead home, ice cream and sushi in hand, Lily and Liam greeted his parents quickly then went upstairs to eat and watch TV in Liam's bed. The rest of their evening was very enjoyably, watching snippets of a movie inbetween making out.

_When the working day is done. Oh, when the working day is done, oh, girls, girls just wanna have fun_

"Aunt Ronica, it's me!" Lily called out as she let herself into the Echolls home on Saturday morning.

"We're in Aubrey's play room!" Veronica hollered in answer.

"Aubrey's playroom?" Lily questioned musingly to herself. Aubrey didn't had a playroom as far as she was aware. Still, she put her things down in the kitchen, then followed the direction from where Veronica's voice had come.

She found Veronica and Aubrey in a guest room, or what was a guest room. It was now a toddler's play land paradise.

"Logan went a little crazy," Veronica said in explanation, seeing Lily's look of curiosity. "He and Aubrey were over at Dick and Mac's and Dick was showing Logan Caroline's play room, and Logan decided Aubrey had to have one too!"

"They're too funny sometimes," Lily said with a giggle. "Still, I think it's lovely! At least she'll never be bored in here either."

"Yes, because at six months our daughter clearly needs all this stuff," Veronica said wryly. "I didn't have the heart to stop him though. He just wants to be a good father, and give his daughter everything. He wants her childhood to be the opposite of his, and I can't argue with that."

Lily nodded understandingly then bent down and caught Aubrey up in her arms. "How's my little Aubrey? You're looking more gorgeous every day, aren't you precious?" Lily cooed at the little girl.

Veronica chuckled and said, "You're as bad as Logan!"

Lily looked around the room pointedly and quirked an eyebrow.

"Fine, you're not as bad," Veronica allowed. "So what brings you here today?"

"I have a bit of study to do, and I thought I'd come do it here to spend some time with you guys. And now that I think of it, where is Uncle Logan?" Lily asked.

"Well, seeing as I no longer trace his whereabouts, I couldn't rightly tell you," Veronica admitted. "He left early this morning, very mysteriously, and went somewhere with Dick. It's been killing me not knowing, especially because you never know what those two will get up to."

As if in answer to this, Veronica and Lily heard the front door open and Logan's voiced yelled, "Ronnie, where are you? Bring Aubrey out here!"

Lily and Veronica shared a look and they walked out of Aubrey's play room, Lily still carrying Aubrey.

They found Logan in the lounge room, holding a squirming bundle of fur.

"Surprise!" Logan exclaimed cheerfully. "Hello Lily-love, I didn't notice your car."

Lily had no chance to reply and Veronica said, "Logan Echolls! What do you mean surprise? What exactly do you have there?"

"A puppy," Logan answered, his tone implying that it was completely obvious.

"Yes, I know that snookums," Veronica retorted dryly. "I mean, what is it doing here?"

"I bought it for Aubrey, and us," Logan explained, beginning to look crestfallen. "He's a beauty! Dick and I heard about them and decided to get them for the girls."

Veronica choked on a burst of laughter, imagining Mac's face at Dick arriving home with a puppy, a few months before they were to have a new baby.

"It's lovely Logan, you just caught me a bit by surprise. I look forward to watching you train him, and clean up after him," Veronica said cheerfully.

Her words had their desired impact, and Logan paled a little. Brightening quickly he replied, "Don't worry Sugarpus, I've got it all sorted. Aubrey, this is your new puppy. What do you think?" Logan asked his daughter.

Aubrey smiled gummily from her position in Lily's arms. The King Charles Cavalier puppy squirmed a bit more in Logan's arms, wagging it's tail all the while.

"What are we going to call him?" Veronica asked. "And don't say Charlie, because that's not happening."

"Well, let's ask Aubrey," Logan replied. "What do you think sweetheart? How about Rex?"

Aubrey's little face was blank, so Logan tried again. "How about, Spot? Fido? Ralph? Jack?"

Lily snorted at the suggestion of Ralph and Veronica took over after Jack.

"How about Clark? Danny?" Veronica suggested. At the suggestion of Danny, Aubrey's face became wreathed with a smile and she let out a delighted gurgle.

"Danny it is," Lily surmised. "Uncle Logan, Ralph, really?"

Logan shrugged, but he looked very pleased with himself. "Ronnie, hold Danny while I get his things from the car, would you?"

Veronica held out her hands for the puppy, and started fawning over him enthusiastically. Lily looked on in amusement, knowing that Veronica would be in love with the puppy within about half an hour, and the mini lecture she'd given Logan had been merely for her own fun.

Lily didn't end up doing much study at the Echolls', thanks to the arrival of Danny. On her way home to gather her things for the slumber party, study slumber party, she couldn't resist stopping at the Casablancas' to see what Mac and Caroline thought of the new addition to their family.

Lily knocked on the door which was opened by a harrowed, heavily pregnant, Mac.

"Hi Aunt Mac," Lily greeted her cheerfully. "How's tricks?"

"Come to survey the damage? Good news sure travels fast," Mac said wryly. "Come on, they're out the back."

Lily followed Mac out the back and they found Dick and Caroline romping around, with the puppy, as only a man-child and his blonde rambunctious toddler daughter could.

Mac and Lily stayed watching through the glass, deciding not the enter the fray.

"I thought he'd gone crazy, bringing the puppy home," Mac remarked. "But it is kind of cute, and they all look so cute together. He's definitely in charge of looking after it thought. I don't even care if he gets someone in to train it and clean up after it, so long as it gets done!"

Lily laughed and replied, "You and Aunt Ronica will be having a lovely chat later on. What have you named your puppy?"

"It's a boy, and Caroline and Dick decided on Wally. Wallace doesn't let Dick call him that, so it shall be interesting to hear what they think," Mac answered. "Did Veronica tell you that he and Amanda are going to have another baby?"

"Yeah she did, today," Lily replied. "I think it's lovely! You'll all have your kids close together and they can be friends. Maybe even Eva and Daddy will have a baby soon," Lily added wistfully.

"I'm sure it won't be long," Mac said comfortingly.

"Thanks Aunt Mac. Anyway, I'd better run, tell those two I said hello!" Lily said cheerfully, then left and made her way home.

She stopped there quickly, grabbing her things and kissing Eva and Duncan goodbye quickly. Lily drove to Melanie's, looked at the time and realised she was a little late. When she pulled up outside the Wheeler's place she noticed all the other girls' cars were there. She grabbed her things, trotted to the front door and rang the bell.

Melanie opened the door and was greeted with the sight of Lily weighed down by her overnight bag and bookbag.

"Lily!" Melanie squealed. "You're late, the others are here already."

"Sorry Mellie. Are we set up to study in the back room?" Lily asked.

"Lily Kane, did you really think we were going to study?" Melanie asked laughingly, the pair moving towards the back room where girlish giggles could be heard.

"Well, I thought we'd at least do a little study," Lily replied.

"You thought wrong!" Melanie replied gleefully. "We have big plans for tonight."

They reached the doorway of the room where Keira, Mia and Sophie were and upon seeing them Lily's eyes widened incredulously. They three of them were wearing some variation of a little black dress, and it was only then that Lily realised that Melanie was also sporting the same odd attire.

"You really do have big plans for tonight," Lily said weakly.

_Oh, girls, they wanna have fu-un. Oh, girls, just wanna have fun...That's all they really want_

"Lily you were turning into an enormous swat, we decided you needed a break. Besides, if you don't know the stuff now, let's face it, you're probably screwed anyway," Keira told her.

"So we decided we'd have some fun tonight, release all that stress and tension before exams start," Mia added.

"Well," Lily said slowly, taking in the collection of make up and designer shoes around the room. A smile eased across her face and she said, "Maybe some fun isn't a bad idea!"

"We thought you wouldn't let us try out our fake IDs right before midterms, so we planned something else," Sophie began.

"Not a party, we wanted something a little more personal," Melanie continued.

"So what's with the little black dresses?" Lily asked curiously.

"Well, it's a little bit silly, the black dresses part," Sophie confessed. "For tonight we kind of planned something between a night of pranks, dares and a scavenger hunt. We figured you wear black for sneaking around at night, but we're girls, and we're hot, so little black dresses were the way to go."

Lily let out a laugh and replied, "It's so silly that it's genius! I suppose you've been waiting for me to arrive so that you can hand me a dress and some heels and cover me with make up?"

"Yep," the girls all chorused together cheerfully.

"Do you worst then," Lily said, holding out her arms and laughing.

An impressively short time later Lily was dressed in a short, black (of course), figure hugging dress, with lace sleeves. Her friends were still similarly arrayed, their dresses varying from bandage style, to A-line, some fuller skirts, some with cap sleeves, some with scoop necks, some with V necks.

Lily surveyed them all as a whole and exclaimed, "We look hilarious! Like some sort of Catwoman fan club!"

"Yeah, well Catwoman's hot, and so are we," Mia stated matter of factly.

"Where to now then?" Lily asked.

"To the Batmobile!" Sophie exclaimed.

"Wrong movie dear," Mia told her gently.

"Who cares, it's still black," Sophie retorted.

"But really, we're all going in my black Mercedes," Keira stated.

The girls grabbed their jackets, all black leather of course, Lily was handed a spare one, and they ran giggling out to the car, managing very well in their sensible black pumps.

"So, we're starting off with a dare," Mia announced. "Keira's taking care of you I think."

"Yep!" Keira exclaimed from the front seat. "So, we're headed to Harry's house. You remember Harry, your first boyfriend? Yes, well when you get there you're going to go inside, find Harry, who I very much hope will be there, then you're going to pretend that you have amnesia, and his house was the only address you can remember. You will of course have your cell in your pocket so that we can hear everything."

Harry still attended Neptune High, but he and Lily hadn't remained close friends after their break up, and he tended to spend most of his time with friends from his soccer team, rather than the 09ers.

"Keira," Lily protested. "That's hard, and not very fair!"

"Suck it up Lil, because we're here," Keira replied. "Besides, you know revenge is sweet."

"I'll say," Lily muttered under her breath, a wicked plan forming in her mind. She got out of the car, pulled out her cell, sent a quick message to someone, then dialled Keira's number and knocked on the door.

Luckily for her sake Harry answered the door.

"Lily?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Is that my name?" Lily asked dumbly.

"Of course it's your name," Harry replied, confused. "Are you feeling alright Lil?"

"No, not really. You see, I didn't know that my name was Lily until just now. I woke up around the corner from here and couldn't remember anything but this address," Lily said, hoping her story didn't sound too stupid to start with.

"Come on in," Harry invited, looking concern. "I'll call your dad."

"No! Don't do that," Lily said a little frantically. "I mean, I don't want to worry him when I don't even know what's going on or who he is. Can you maybe tell me a little more about me. And who are you? Are you my boyfriend?"

"I'm Harry, your ex-boyfriend," he told her gently. "You're Lily Kane, your dad is Duncan Kane, and you're scaring the hell out of me, so I'm calling him."

"Wait, wait Harry!" Lily pleaded, a wild desire to laugh settling upon her.

Harry noticed that her face had contorted and he assumed with pain. "Are you hurt? Your head maybe?" Harry asked in concern.

Lily shook her head, not trusting herself not to laugh. She then looked closely at the worry in Harry's eyes and the absurdity of the situation hit her and she started laughing.

"Shit, this isn't good," Harry muttered.

"No, it's not," Lily howled in laughter. "I'm sorry Harry, it was a prank or dare, blame Keira! I'll see you Monday."

With that she kissed his cheek apologetically and fled the house. Harry stood there, shaking his head in bewilderment.

"Lily Kane, you chickened out of that quickly," Mia chortled once Lily had rejoined them in the car.

"You should have seen his face, it was awful, how worried he looked," Lily admonished them. "No more mean ones like that," she ruled. "Now, Keira, hope out of the driver's seat, I'm in charge for this one."

Keira looked a little worried, but vacated the driver's seat.

They drove for a few minutes, and as Lily neared their destination she began to speak. "So Keira, this one is for you, my revenge as you put it. We're about to pull up outside Uncle Dick and Aunt Mac's house. You're going to go in there and ask to speak to Uncle Dick, then you're going to flirt with him and profess your great undying love for him. I'd also start praying that Aunt Mac doesn't kill you, you know, pregnant women and their hormones."

"Lily Megan Kane!" Keira shrieked. "That's downright humiliating, just because I said he was hot one time."

"Pay back's a bitch Keira," Lily said cheerfully. "Now, don't forget to have your cell set up so that we can hear."

Keira returned some ten minutes later, her face bright red.

"Lily!" Keira wailed, "Your Aunt Mac is going to kill me!"

"No, she won't," Lily replied serenely. "I warned her ahead of time, it was a little pay back on her behalf for Uncle Dick. He surprised Caroline with a puppy today, he also surprised Aunt Mac, she was pretty frazzled by it."

"Gee thanks," Keira said sarcastically, "So glad I could help you all out and get humiliated at the same time!"

"You'll be fine," Lily said airily. "Go on, you drive again. Where's the fun at now?"

**AN: Thanks for reading :) Please review :) If you want to know what happened inside the Casablancas house, review, and I'll send it to you!**


	22. Chapter 215 Inside Casa de Casablancas

**AN: Thanks to my guest reviewers (and the other's too) from the last chapter, and here is the dare for Angel (and the other readers who don't have accounts :)) It's also a little apology for not updating at my usual time (I was out all day and wasn't able/ready to post at my usual time), sorry!**

Chapter 21.5 – Inside Casa de Casablancas

Keira walked to the door, quickly trying to conquer her nerves. She rapped on the door and waited there until Mac opened the door, a look of surprise pasted on her face.

"Hi, how can I help you?" Mac greeted her.

"Um, hi, I'm Keira Anderson. I was wondering if Mr Casablancas was here?"

"Keira? Oh, you're a friend of Lily's, right?" Mac asked congenially.

"Yeah," Keira confirmed. "So, is Mr Casablancas here?"

"Oh, right, sure. He's right through here, come on," Mac replied.

Keira followed after Mac, cringing inwardly for what was about to come. She quickly shook herself and decided that she needed to get into character, she needed to play a part, so that she didn't feel so stupid.

"Dick, a friend of Lily's is here to see you," Mac announced.

"Oh?" Dick asked, his tone curious.

"Hi Mr Casablancas, I'm Keira," Keira said in greeting.

"No one calls me that, it makes me feel too old and serious. Call me Dick," Dick instructed her.

Keira nodded, an easy smile pasted to her face.

"Can I get you something Keira, a drink maybe?" Mac offered generously.

Keira jumped at the chance, hoping to get Mac out of the room for her performances.

"That'd be great, thanks!" Keira responded cheerfully.

"Orange juice alright?" Mac asked.

Keira nodded in reply, and Mac left the room, scurrying to the kitchen as fast as she could while pregnant. She wanted to return and hide outside the doorway to listen to Keira talking to Dick. Lily had promised that it would be good, and Mac was more than ready for some entertainment after her tiring day.

While Mac was in the kitchen, Keira was busy getting her dare over and done with.

"This is a great place you've got here," she said warmly.

"Thanks," Dick replied easily, use to compliments about his home. "So, what can I do for you? Something to do with Lily?"

"Hmm, what can you do for me?" Keira said seductively, walking closer to him swaying her hips. "I think the real question is, what can I do for you."

Dick suddenly looked concerned and confused. "Um," Dick said uncertainly. "Why don't you just take a seat Keira, Mac should be back here any minute with your juice."

"You'd like me to sit? How about right here?" Keira said flirtatiously, sitting right up close to Dick.

"No, no, no," Dick said hurriedly. "You stay over there, I'll move over here."

"But Dick, I thought you wanted to talk," Keira said with a pout.

"No, not really. Actually you came here, wanting to talk or something," Dick said, suddenly remembering this unusual fact.

"Oh that's right," Keira said with a giggle.

"So, what'd you want?" Dick asked.

Keira moved over closer to him again, and said, her lashes lowered provocatively, "There was something I wanted to say. I've been wanting to say it for a while. I think you're seriously hot, and I've been in love with you for ages. I kind of have a thing for older guys."

Mac had been listening long enough to hear Keira's declaration, and was shaking with silent laughter. She heard Dick start spluttering and entered the room.

"Hey Mackie!" Dick exclaimed, relieved to have his wife rejoin them.

"Here's your orange juice Keira," Mac said, looking curiously at Dick, and handing Keira her juice.

"Oh, thanks, I hope it wasn't too much trouble," Keira said awkwardly, rather flustered that Mac was back, and her confession was over.

She gulped her juice down then said, "Well, I should get going. Thanks for having me!"

Keira fled as fast as possible without looking ridiculous and made her way back to the car.

Inside Mac said to Dick, "What did she want? She was dressed interestingly for someone who was paying a visit on a Saturday night."

Dick spluttered again and said, "She, she, um, oh shit." Dick put his head in his hands and shook it.

This caused Mac to start howling with laughter and Dick looked at her, even more confused than he had been several minutes before.


	23. Chapter 22 Don't you wanna stay

**AN: Thanks for the response for my last two updates, sorry again for not updating with a proper chapter yesterday! Hope you enjoy this one, there will be lots of LiLi!**

Chapter 22 – Don't you wanna stay

_I really hate to let this moment go, touching your skin and your hair fallin' so_

"See, we survived midterms, even with your little night of fun," Liam informed Lily, his arm around her waist, pulling her close, as they walked out of Neptune High on Friday afternoon.

"Surviving doesn't equal good marks," Lily retorted.

"You know you'll get amazing marks," Liam replied.

"Yeah, well I might do well, but there's still you to worry about, and the girls on my team," Lily stated. "I don't want to have to suspend them, for my sake and theirs."

"Don't worry too much babe. And I'll be fine, I always am, it's part of my charm," Liam said with a big smirk.

"Charm? Hmm, I don't quite know about that. Maybe part of your jackass qualities," Lily teased.

"So I'm not charming then?" Liam asked, leaning down towards her face, placing his lips inches from hers. He stared intently at her and she felt her face heat up.

"No, nope, not really, not much," Lily stuttered out.

Liam chuckled. "Well, which is it?"

"If you're so charming, you figure it out!" Lily huffed.

"Have dinner with me tomorrow night," Liam said in response.

"Like a date?" Lily asked, all smiles again.

"Yes, like a date, or a date, whichever you prefer," Liam lightly teased.

"I'd like that," Lily replied, smiling gently. "What did you have in mind?"

"Dinner, then we can decide what we want to do afterwards," Liam replied.

"Sounds nice, and simple. I could use some simplicity for once," Lily said honestly.

"I'll pick you up at 6.30 then," Liam told her.

"In the Barbie car?" Lily asked with great feigned excitement.

"Just for that I'll rent some old embarrassing car," Liam said threateningly.

"No, you won't, you love that car and you lo–, you wouldn't do that to me," Lily said. She had unthinkingly almost said, "You love me," which isn't something you joke about with your new boyfriend. It can lead to all sorts of complications. Either he feels pressured into saying he does love you, he lies and says he loves you, or he awkwardly says nothing. All in all, Lily had made a good save, but it did plant a seed in her mind. Did she love Liam? Could she fall in love with him? How did he really feel about her? She decided not to dwell on it for the time being, things were going well between them and she had no reason to believe that would change.

"We'll see," Liam retorted roguishly.

"Yeah, we will," Lily replied.

Accordingly, Lily was sitting on a window seat, that overlooked the front of her house, on Saturday night. It was 6.25 and she was ready and waiting, keeping an eye out for Liam's arrival, and in what he was driving.

Lily was wearing a red crepe Antoni Beradi dress. It had a fitted bodice with a loose skirt and sheer sleeves. She was wearing her favourite pair of classic nude pumps and a cream blazer was sitting next to her on the window seat. She had gone for pretty and elegant without being over the top, the right balance for a first date.

Liam pulled up at the curb at that moment, driving his Porsche. Lily smiled in satisfaction, grabbed her jacket and purse and trotted downstairs.

Lily met Liam at the door and called goodbye to Duncan and Eva. She kissed Liam in greeting then crowed, "I knew you'd bring the Porsche."

"Well, yeah. Come on, let's get going," Liam said in reply.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked.

"We're going to have Italian," Liam answered.

"Oh, my favourite!" Lily exclaimed.

"Lil, they're all your favourites," Liam chortled.

"Well, that clearly makes me low maintenance," Lily retorted humorously.

"Of course darling," Liam returned dryly.

Once they were in the restaurant and had started their main meals Lily said, "So you've sent off all your applications for college, haven't you?"

"Lily, I thought we talked about this, I have my scholarship to Stanford for football," Liam said in answer.

"I know, but what if you want to go somewhere else? Have other options? It's not like money is an issue," Lily replied.

"I know, but I like Stanford, they're a really good school, and let's face it, my grades wouldn't get me in there," Liam countered.

"I guess," Lily said slowly.

"What's all this about babe?" Liam asked.

"Well, it's just, I don't know where I'm going yet, or where I get in. I might go to Stanford, but if I don't, where does that leave us?" Lily asked.

"You've really been worried about that, haven't you?" Liam asked gently.

Lily nodded her head.

"College is still ages away, and we'll face it when it comes. But for now, let's just live in the moment," Liam suggested.

"You're right," Lily admitted. "Wait, did I just say that you were right? Oh God, what has this world come to?" Lily teased lightly.

"Laugh now," Liam retorted.

Lily's eyes danced, then she noticed their dessert arriving and she grinned appreciatively.

As they both worked on their food Liam asked, "So, what do you want to do after this?"

"I don't know really," Lily replied. "I don't really feel like going to see a movie, and going back to my house could cause some problems seeing as Dad will probably want to talk to you, or at least keep both eyes trained on you."

"My parents are out, I believe that solves all our problems," Liam said easily, grinning in anticipation.

"Check please?" Lily said quietly, to him, laughing lightly.

He nodded his head vigorously, and replied, "You're so full of good ideas."

"Pretty much," Lily agreed, popping the last mouthful of her dessert in her mouth.

Once inside Liam's house Liam kissed Lily, then picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, enthusiastically kissing him back. He pressed her up against the wall and they continued to kiss furiously. Liam slipped a hand under her dress, touching Lily's smooth, soft torso. Lily nibbled on his earlobe, then returned to kissing his lips. Liam broke there kiss and sucked gently on her neck, eliciting a low moan from her.

Lily unwound her legs from Liam's waist and she slid down his body, back to the floor, feeling every each of his firm figure as she went, including his reaction to her. She grinned, pleased with herself.

Liam kissed her again, her arms snaked around his neck. One of his hands cupped her face while the other reached for the zipper of her dress, found it, and undid it. Lily's dress slipped off her shoulders and Liam helped it along on it's way to the floor.

Lily stood before him wearing only a lacy red bra and panties and her heels. Liam's eyes darkened at the sight of her and she moved towards him, reaching for his shirt, then throwing it over his head.

Just as their lips met again, Lily's cell rang.

"Ignore it," Liam said, breathing heavily.

"Can't," Lily replied. "It might be my dad."

It was her dad.

"Hi Daddy, what's up?" Lily said in greeting, trying to sound as normal as possible.

"Hi sweetie. I just wanted to let you know we're having brunch with Granddad tomorrow morning, so you'd better get come home soon so you won't be too tired," Duncan informed her. "Eva and I are going to bed now. I'll be listening out for you to get home."

"Right, bye Daddy," Lily replied, and hung up quickly.

She turned toward Liam, looking dejected.

"I take it our fun here is over?" Liam asked.

"Yep," Lily replied. "For now. I'll make it up to you later, I promise."

"Just stay," Liam implored, threading his fingers through her hair and pulling her mouth towards his.

Lily returned his kiss then regretfully pulled away. "I should really go. I'll talk to you tomorrow, promise. Now, where's my dress?"

_Let's take it slow, I don't wanna move too fast, don't wanna just make love, I wanna make a love last_

On Sunday after brunch Lily called Liam.

"Hey gorgeous," Liam greeted her when he answered.

Lily smiled and replied, "Hey yourself."

"How was brunch?" Liam asked.

"Oh, I wouldn't say exactly fun, Granddad isn't quite wired for fun, but it was good to see him. He's been in better spirits of late, and that makes Daddy happier, so a fairly good visit," Lily answered.

"I'm glad," Liam said genuinely. "Now, I presume you're ringing about your promise of making up for last night."

Lily giggled, "You're so predictable, but I was actually ringing along those lines. I don't need an excuse to call you though, do I?"

"No, of course not!" Liam exclaimed, quickly walking back his slight error of speech. "I love it when you call me, I would love it even if you're only ringing to tell me that the sun is shining, or that you bought a new pair of shoes."

Lily giggled and said, "I'll remind you of this the next time I call you about a new pair of Jimmy Choos!"

Liam chuckled, knowing she had made a fair point. "Anyway, what were you thinking of doing?" Liam asked, roguishly hoping her answer would be "You".

"Well, it was actually sort of Granddad's idea," Lily began. "I got a new tennis racquet from him and Grandma for Christmas and he asked me if I'd tried it out, and I haven't. So I said I would, and that I'd let him know how it went. What do you say? Think you can beat me at tennis?"

"Babe, I know I can beat you," Liam replied confidently.

"Ah, there's my jackass, I knew he'd resurface soon enough," Lily mocked.

"Just you wait Lily Kane, I'll win, you'll see. We can play on our courts if you want," Liam offered. "Mom and Dad are out too."

Lily's breath hitched in excitement, reading the meaning behind his last remark. "I'll be over in about half an hour then?" Lily asked.

"Sounds good, bring your A game!" Liam instructed her cheerfully, and hung up.

Lily put her cell down and quickly stood up and walked into her closet to find her most appealing tennis outfit. She had a weakest for cute sport outfits, and tennis was no exception. In the end she pulled out a little red tennis dress, and paired it with white runners and a white wristband. She still had a nice tan, the winter sun in California was nice in that regard, so the stark white against her skin looked good.

She quickly dressed, then pulled her hair up into a high ponytail. Then she grabbed her purse and cell and walked downstairs to find the rest of her tennis gear.

After collecting it all she went out onto the deck where she found Duncan and Eva, curled up together on an outdoor loveseat.

"Daddy, Eva, I'm off to play tennis now," Lily announced.

"Maria Sharapova eat your heart out," Eva said jokingly, taking in Lily's appearance.

Duncan grinned at the picture his daughter made, then frowned a little at the thought of what her boyfriend would think. "It's nice of you to try that racquet out straight away for your Granddad. Who are you playing with?"

"Thanks Daddy. Liam, we're going to use his courts, then I'll probably stay for dinner, or we might go and have dinner with Keira and Ethan," Lily replied. Neither of those options was out of the question, but Lily didn't think they were likely. She just wanted to tell her dad something that wouldn't have him wondering what she was doing, she knew he preferred to live in denial over her love life.

"Okay sweetie, just be home by ten thirty, it is a school night," Duncan instructed.

"Sure thing," Lily replied. She then kissed each of their cheeks and turned and left, a spring in her step.

After Lily was out of earshot Eva said to Duncan, "When do you want to tell her about the baby?"

"Let's wait a few weeks, until you're a bit further along, it's what they advise," Duncan suggested.

"I agree. I know she wants a baby brother or sister badly, and I'd hate to disappoint her if we lost this baby too," Eva said sadly.

"We won't," Duncan told her resolutely. "We want this baby, and we're having this baby."

Eva leaned her head on Duncan's chest and hoped so as well.

Meanwhile Lily was driving to Liam's house in blissful happiness, knowing her afternoon and evening were going to be full of fun and games, and certainly not only the tennis variety.

A little while later, out on the court at the Armistead's, Liam and Lily were at the end of their set, they had decided to just play the one. Lily was serving to stay in the match. Lily turned around briefly so that her back was towards Liam, making sure that her skirt swished and gave him a good look at her behind. Then she turned around and prepared to serve, grinning cheekily.

"Babe, we both know you're hot, but you're not going to distract me," Liam called from the other end.

"We'll see!" Lily yelled back.

She bounced the ball a couple of times then tossed it high into the air, and served an ace into the far corner to level the set 6 all.

"Didn't work hey?" Lily called teasingly.

"Nope, it was just a really good serve," Liam replied.

"Thanks," Lily said impishly. "I thought so too. So, tie breaker?"

"Yep," Liam confirmed. He then prepared to serve and Lily waited at the other end.

In the end Liam beat her, narrowly however. The dropped their racquets and grabbed their water bottles, then flopped down on the grass together, exhausted.

"I didn't know you were that good!" Liam told her in admiration.

"Many lessons," Lily said succinctly.

"The life of an 09er, and the granddaughter of the Kanes," Liam added accurately. "Well, it payed off, I'm very impressed."

"Thank you," Lily said genuinely, pleased with his praise. "God, I'm exhausted, and hot and sweaty!"

Liam took a long drink and then said, "Shower time, unless of course you want a dip in the pool."

"Uh, the pool looks a little cold, I think I'll go with the shower," Lily replied.

Liam stood up and held out his hands to Lily and pulled her up off the ground. They grabbed their gear and slung their bags over their shoulders, then walked hand-in-hand up to the house.

They left their tennis things downstairs, then made their way up to Liam's bathroom. Lily decided it was as good a time as any to pick up where they left off the day before, so she pulled her dress over her head and dropped it to the floor. She knew Liam would not object in the least to showering together, and she grinned flirtatiously. She moved towards him and lifted his shirt over his head.

Liam grinned at her and reached for her sports crop, looking quickly into her eyes for permission. A smile was his answer and he took it off. She then made quick work of his shorts.

Lily then turned around and started the shower. With her back to Liam she removed her undershorts and panties and he watched the back of her naked form disappear into the shower. He quickly stepped out of his own briefs and followed her in, pinning her against the wall and kissing her deeply.

They continued to kiss, wet, smooth skin on skin. Lily nibbled on Liam's ear and he moaned, "Shower sex is so hot."

Lily paused briefly and said little hesitantly, "Liam I don't actually want to have sex now. I want to wait, please. I didn't mean to lead you on or anything…"

"Hey, hey, it's fine. I'm a guy, of course I'm going to think about sex, and want sex, but fooling around in the shower is pretty much as good. There are so many things we can do before sex. Besides, anything with you is good," Liam told her reassuringly.

"Just when I think I have you pegged you throw me a curve ball and surprise me," Lily told him tenderly. She then returned her lips to his, kissing him heatedly.

_We can make forever feel this way, don't you wanna stay_

"I hardly heard from you at all, all weekend," Keira said to Lily as they walked into Neptune High together on Monday morning.

"I was busy," Lily said in reply, grinning.

"Oh, I see, busy," Keira repeated laughingly. "Yes, I must admit I spent quite a bit of my weekend being 'busy' as well. It was so good to get midterms over with."

"No, I really was busy, and a bit of the other busy," Lily replied.

"So tell me then," Keira instructed.

"We went out Saturday night, our first date. It was really nice. I was a little worried that things would change now that we're together, but the spark is still there, actually it's even more prominent," Lily began. "But it's not even all about that, we can talk about other things, it's nice and, well, not easy, but I guess you could say natural."

"I'm happy, I was a little upset with you for what happened with Scott you know, but I didn't say anything because it wasn't the right time, you needed me," Keira replied. "I'm telling you know though because I wanted to say I think you did the right thing in the end. You're happy, and that's what you deserve."

"Thanks," Lily said gently, deciding that there was nothing else really to say in reply.

"So, what else did you do," Keira pressed.

"Oh we made out, I went home, had brunch with Granddad on Sunday, Liam and I played tennis that afternoon, and got busy in the shower," Lily summarised quickly.

"Lily Kane! Shower sex, I'm impressed," Keira squealed.

"Keira!" Lily admonished, looking pointedly around at the other students in the hallway.

"Oh, right," Keira said apologetically.

"And we didn't have sex, we haven't yet. We've only been together for almost two weeks. You know I don't take sex lightly, so I want to wait, at least a bit longer," Lily informed her.

"Well, good for you," Keira said. "But if you're already fooling around in the shower, I think your resolve is going to waver quickly."

As if to cement her point, Liam appeared and kissed Lily in greeting, who essentially melted into his kiss.

"Hi Liam," Keira said in amusement.

"Oh, hey Keira," Liam returned. "Mind if I steal her away?"

"Go for it, I'm going to go an find Ethan anyway," Keira replied, grinning at her besotted best friend. "We'll talk later Lil."

"So, what did you want?" Lily asked after Keira left.

"Just to see you," Liam replied.

"That's really sweet, but I'm sure you want something else as well," Lily countered.

"Well, I did want to see what you're doing tomorrow afternoon, seeing as there is no cheer practice," Liam admitted.

"I'll be doing homework and working on routines and maybe going to visit Aunt Ronica," Lily replied.

Liam looked disappointed and Lily smothered an amused grin.

"What?" Liam asked, catching her expression.

"Well, it's just funny. You're bored with football season being over, and you're horny all the time," Lily informed him.

Liam pouted and she quickly kissed the pout from his lips.

"I just want to spend time with my girlfriend, alone time," Liam almost whined. "Can you blame me for not wanting our parents around?"

"Definitely not," Lily agreed. "But I still have a busy schedule. Of course I'm going to make time for you, but I don't want our relationship to become co-dependent. Relationships that last are balanced ones."

"So you want our relationship to last?" Liam asked.

"Don't you?" Lily asked, worried.

"Of course, of course! I just didn't know. I mean, we haven't completely talked about things," Liam replied.

"Liam, I don't date casually and I don't take relationships lightly," Lily informed him. "I chose you and I want to make our relationship last."

Liam grinned widely and replied, "So do I."

They shared another quick kiss before departing as the bell rang.

**AN: Please review, I'd really like to know what you think about this one!**


	24. Chapter 23 How will I know

**AN: Okay, so I'm going to address a timing issue. In Drops of Jupiter I was very vague with specific dates/years, which suited me then. For this I had actually been working of a specific year, as we can work out easily enough when Lily was born (end of 2005). So Lily's senior year would be 2023/2024, but for some odd reason I had been working off 2017/18, yeah I'm an idiot! As luck would have it, the dates are actually pretty much the same, so God loves me! So anyway, this was a bit of a pointless blurb, and if you've read it, thanks!**

**To answer Nichole's question, no you didn't miss anything. Duncan and Eva did lose a baby, she had an early miscarriage, but this is the first we're hearing of it.**

**Thanks everyone who's reviewed and alerted :)**

**Happy reading :)**

Chapter 23 – How will I know

_When I wake from dreaming, tell me is it really love_

"Will you marry me?" Liam asked Lily, as they stood together in the afternoon sun on the beach. The spot where they first kissed properly, to be precise.

"Yes! Yes," Lily replied, kissing Liam soundly.

He then slipped the ring onto her finger, a square cut diamond with a yellow diamond either side. They kissed again then Lily said fervently, "I love you, so much."

"And I love you," Liam returned. "Come on, let's go tell our parents."

"Wait," Lily said. "How about we take a drive first?"

"A drive?" Liam asked puzzled.

"Yeah, to your place," Lily said seductively.

Liam picked her up and twirled her around, kissing her thoroughly. "I love how you think," he said sincerely.

Lily giggled as he took her hand and led her up the beach, "I know, that's why I'm marrying you."

"No, that's why I'm marry you!" Liam retorted cheerfully.

They walked back up the beach to the Kane's place and avoided walking inside and merely slipped around the side to where Liam's Porsche was sitting.

The late summer sun was warm on their faces and the light breeze gently blew Lily's hair and caused her yellow sundress to swish at her knees.

Once at Liam's they kissed their way up into his bedroom, then fell into his bed, loosing themselves in each other quickly.

The scene faded and morphed into another, Lily was on Duncan's arm, gliding down the aisle to where Liam was standing at the end. She had never felt so happy in her life, she was about the marry the man she loved and they were going to spend their lives together.

"Do you Liam James Armistead, take Lily Megan Kane, to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the preacher asked.

"I do," Liam answered, his voice ringing with certainty.

"And do you, Lily Megan Kane, take Liam James Armistead, to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the preacher asked.

"I do," Lily answered, her voice ringing with emotion.

"You may now kiss the bride," the preacher informed them.

Liam lifted Lily's veil then kissed her thoroughly.

"I give you, Mr and Mrs Armistead," the preacher announced.

Lily floated down the aisle on Liam's arm, amidst the congratulations of her family and friends.

The scene faded again and moved to the reception later in the evening. Lily had been talking to some relatives when she realised she couldn't see Liam anymore. She excused herself quickly, picked up the train of her dress and went in search of him.

He wasn't anywhere to be found in the main room, so Lily moved out to one of the back rooms. She passed a dark corner and stumbled upon a couple, pressed together, making out.

"Oh excuse me," she said awkwardly. Then she paused and shrieked, "Liam!"

Liam pulled apart from the waitress and looked at Lily, abashed.

It was at this point when Lily woke up with a scream, her face covered in sweat.

She sat up and looked at her clock. It was 6.15 and she knew she wouldn't be going back to sleep.

Lily crawled out of her warm bed and walked sluggishly across to her bathroom to get a drink of water. She was hot and her throat was dry and irritated, and to make matters worse she felt a headache coming on.

She went back to her bed, a glass of water and painkillers in hand and decided to flick on _The Vampire Diaries_, one of her favourite shows.

She stayed curled up in bed until 7.30 when she knew she needed to get up and get dressed for school. The idea of school wasn't very appealing, it was only Tuesday, and she felt tired and under the weather. She thought part of it was due to her dream, but if she avoided Liam now because of a silly dream, it would make it hard to forget the dream and return to the normality of her reality.

A bowl of cereal and a glass of orange later, Lily was ready for school.

She went out to her car, her school things in hand, got in and headed towards Neptune High. As she drove she finally allowed herself to think about her dream, the bright light of the morning making it seem less awful.

In her dream she had loved Liam, and it seemed like he had loved her too, but then he had cheated on her, right after he made a serious promise of commitment. Deep down Lily knew that her dream was mirroring her real fear of the true nature of Liam's affection.

He seemed committed to her, but she knew his dating history, date and dump was his old style, and quick hook ups were certainly not unheard of. Lily knew that she wanted to be with him, she'd taken long enough about her decision to be sure, but she was a little worried that it had been more of a game for Liam. Would he leave her once he'd got what he wanted? She partly wanted to wait to have sex with him for this reason. She was a little worried that he'd get tired of her, or that she wouldn't measure up to other girls he'd been with. Or what if he cheated on her? He'd proved that he was capable of that, he'd helped her cheat on Scott. Then again, he'd been continuously proving that he'd been changing, and for her. But how would she really know?

As Lily pulled into the parking lot she shook off her thoughts, giving them up as a bad idea. She cared about Liam and he cared about her, and it was early days yet, so that was all the was important for the time being. She repeated this several times in her mind, making sure to convince herself.

"Hey gorgeous," Liam greeted her as she stepped out of her car.

"Hey," Lily returned, her voice a little tired sounding.

"Lily, are you alright?" Liam asked, suddenly concerned. "You don't look so good."

"Thanks," Lily replied shortly, a bit irked.

"Hey, hey, I didn't mean it like that," Liam said quickly. "You always look beautiful. I just meant that you looked a bit tired and unwell."

"I'm sorry," Lily said contritely. "I am tired, I didn't sleep well, and I'm not feeling great."

"What are you doing here then? Take the day off," Liam advised.

Lily saw the real worry in his eyes and was touched, and it made her feel a little better too. "I'm okay, I'm not really sick. If I take the day off I'll just spend more energy catching up, don't worry about me," Lily replied.

"It's my job to," Liam retorted cheekily. "If you're really sure, then let's head inside."

_How will I know if he really loves me, I say a prayer with every heartbeat, I fall in love whenever we meet_

Tuesday after school Lily decided that she was feeling much better, she had stuck they day out, and the weirdness she'd been feeling thanks to the dream was predominately forgotten.

After kissing Liam goodbye in the parking lot she decided to visit Veronica after school. Seeing Aubrey always put her in a good mood, the baby's dimples and smiles assured that. Plus, there was also the bonus of seeing little Danny the puppy now too.

Once at the Echolls' Lily let herself inside and wandered out the back to where she found Veronica and Aubrey, as well as Mac and Caroline. It appeared Mac had brought Wally with her, seeing as there appeared to be two of Danny.

"Hello," Lily said cheerfully in greeting.

"Lil!" Caroline squealed, having managed to finally properly form the word.

"Hi Lily, to what do we owe the honour?" Veronica asked jokingly.

"Oh, I was hungry, and I felt like seeing you. Hi Aunt Mac, it's a nice bonus to see you and Carrie too," Lily said in reply. "Your car wasn't out the front though."

"Dick dropped us here," Mac explained. "He and Logan went surfing, so I thought we'd come over here, and Caroline demanded we bring Wally."

"I see," Lily said laughing. "Well, I'll just sit down and do some homework and listen to you two."

Lily looked hopefully toward the kitchen. Veronica laughed.

"Yes, there are cookies, bring some out for us all," Veronica told her.

Lily walked happily into the kitchen and reappeared a little while later with her prize, and a glass of milk.

"So Dick wants to name the new baby Tyson if it's a boy?" Veronica was asking Mac incredulously.

"Yep, so pretty much that isn't happening," Mac replied.

"We all know you've got Uncle Dick wrapped around your finger," Lily commented.

"And you didn't even have to try for that," Veronica added.

"It's a good life," Mac said serenely. "Except I feel more and more like a bloated whale every day. On the plus side Caroline is more independent and Dick does make sure the puppy is taken care of."

"Soon the baby will be here, and you won't even remember what was uncomfortable about being pregnant," Veronica said knowingly.

"I know, I know you're right, but for the moment I'll probably just get more grumpy. At least the baby is due early spring, not in summer like Caroline. When is Amanda due again?" Mac asked.

"Early summer," Veronica chuckled. "But I doubt she'll mind, she and Wallace are just so excited about having another baby. It's a girl you know, they found out."

"Really? Nobody told me!" Lily squealed.

"Sorry sweetie, you've been so busy lately and we've missed our Thursday dinners a bit because of the holiday season," Veronica explained.

"We're all having dinner at your house this Thursday, aren't we?" Mac asked Lily.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Lily confirmed. "Just turn up, I'm sure it'll be fine!"

"Oh we will," Veronica confirmed. "Just try and stop us."

"I don't think I'd even know where to begin," Lily giggled.

"How're things with Liam?" Mac asked, changing the topic.

"Aunt Mac! Initiating girl talk?" Lily asked, feigning horror.

"I figure I should practise on you so that when Caroline is older I won't have any trouble," Mac reasoned.

"Makes sense," Veronica agreed. "I'm lucky I've had a head start with you Lily!"

"You'll both be fine, and you know it! Besides, I'm sure Uncle Dick and Uncle Logan would be quite capable of taking care of talking to them," Lily remarked.

Veronica and Mac shared a knowing look then Veronica said, "No boys."

"No dating," Mac continued.

"Ever," they chorused.

The three of them laughed and Caroline continued to play obliviously, while Aubrey was snuggled in Veronica's arms.

As the evening approached Lily went home to an empty home, Duncan and Eva were both still at work, and a message on her cell let her know they were going out for dinner before they came home.

Lily sighed a little and curled up on the lounge, her feeling of tiredness returning in force. She sneezed twice then moaned, sincerely hoping she wasn't actually going to get really sick.

Her cell began to ring and she answered it, "Hello?"

"Hey babe, are you at home?" Liam's voiced asked.

"Yep," Lily replied, his voice causing her to smile.

"What are you doing?" Liam asked.

"Watching an old episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S," Lily answered. "Hang on, I just have to answer the door."

Lily jumped up and opened the door to fine Liam standing there, still holding his cell to his ear, grinning.

"Hi," Lily said softly. "How did you know I wanted to see you?"

"I didn't know, I just wanted to see you," Liam replied. "I brought you chicken soup. You still looked pretty pale at the end of the day, so I thought soup might help."

Lily's eyes quickly filled with tears and she tried to brush them away before Liam noticed. He'd brought her chicken soup because she didn't look well, and she partially didn't look well because she was tired and stressed from worrying about whether he was committed to their relationship. Even though he didn't know, he done everything he could do to ease her worry, and he was there on her doorstep while her dad and Eva were out, bringing her soup and company. In that moment Lily knew she could love him, and that she was already falling in love with him.

Liam did notice Lily's tears and said, "Lily, what's the matter? Why are you crying?"

"I'm not," Lily said quickly. "I'm just being silly. It's just, you're so good to me."

Lily wrapped her arms around him and he hugged her back with one arm, the other still holding the soup.

"Want to come in and eat soup with me?" Lily asked. "We can even watch F.R.I.E.N.D.S reruns together."

"With an offer like that, how could I refuse?" Liam asked lightly.

_Oh tell me, if he loves me, if he loves me, if he loves me, if he loves me not_

That night Lily slept a dreamless sleep, for which she was very grateful. She woke up feeling much better, a goof thing seeing it was Wednesday, which meant cheer practice.

Lily hopped out of bed and went downstairs, a spring in her step. She was bright and cheerful as she talked to her dad and Eva over breakfast and as she dressed for school she hummed happily.

As she sat down next to Mia in English she said cheerily, "Hi Mia."

"Hey Lil," Mia returned. "You're in a good mood! Is it because we all did well enough in our midterms to stay on the team?"

"Well, that is good, glad things won't get ugly in that regard. I just woke up feeling good," Lily replied.

"Great! Looking forward to a nice practice then," Mia said cheekily.

"Hey! I'm always nice!" Lily exclaimed indignantly.

Mia just grinned impishly back.

Little did they know, but fate did not intend for practice to be quite so nice.

When Lily walked out to the lunch area with Keira they sat down together and were shortly joined by the other girls, Mia, Melanie and Sophie.

"No boyfriends at lunch today?" Sophie asked.

"No, girl time," Keira replied.

"And pizza time," Lily said cheerfully, gesturing to their approaching lunch order.

"I love Pirate Points," Melanie remarked serenely, grabbing a slice of pizza.

"Me too, but I am glad they're available for everyone to earn now, not just 09ers," Lily said in an off-hand manner.

"What do you mean Lil?" Sophie asked, puzzled.

"Oh, well back when my dad went here, Pirate Points were set up by the student council so that only 09ers could get them pretty much. But Daddy changed that, and here we are," Lily surmised.

"Oh, okay. That was nice of him. It must be interesting to be able to hear so much Neptune High history from your dad," Sophie remarked.

"Soph!" Mia said, and elbowed her, conscious of the sad history surrounding Neptune that affected Lily and her family.

"Don't worry Sophie," Lily reassured her, seeing her stricken face. "We all know the history of my family, the whole of Neptune does. I know you weren't meaning anything by it."

Sophie smiled gratefully and Keira began talking about a new pair of shoes, but Lily quickly faded out of the conversation as she sighted several girls talking to Liam, and the other guys he was sitting with.

The problem was that they weren't merely talking, they were **flirting** with them, including Liam. They were girls from her cheerleading team, the usually nice Chloe, another girl named Brianna, and typically, Olivia. Lily watched her boyfriend's actions. He wasn't encouraging their behaviour, but he wasn't discouraging it either. The sad truth of the matter was that Liam loved attention, and no matter how much he'd changed, that fact didn't look like it was going to. Lily felt sad and hurt and wondered how she was ever going to know how he felt, the obvious option of asking him never crossed her mind.

Once she'd finished being sad about Liam, Lily turned a calculating look towards the three girls and silently seething, raining down hate internally upon their unsuspicious heads. She was Lily Kane, their queen and captain, and this generally was heeded by all, so the fact that they were flirting with her boyfriend seemed the height of audacity to Lily.

"Lily!" Melanie called, trying to get her attention. "What are you staring at that's making you so pissed off?"

"Oh, what?" Lily asked. "Oh sorry, I didn't realise I was, I was just in another land. What are we talking about?"

"Spring, summer, the new swimwear lines," Sophie answered. "It's going to be our last summer together, then everything will change, so we're going to look hot and spend lots of it on the beach!"

Lily had to smile at Sophie's view of things and said, "Sounds good Soph."

"What if we never see each other after this summer?" Sophie asked, sounding mournful, her pre-graduation blues already beginning.

"In the words of the immortal Danny Zuko, 'Nah, that'll never happen.'," Lily said cheerfully, choosing to focus on that instead of the slutty girls who were still flirting with her boyfriend. "We all live in Neptune, and we'll all be back here during breaks, and some of us might even go to the same colleges. Don't worry yet."

"I'll be too busy worrying about getting into college," Mia moaned.

"Don't worry, if all else fails a donation from Daddy tends to do the trick," Melanie said serenely.

The girls chuckled, knowing the truth of the matter.

When the bell rang Lily met Liam and they made their way to Trig together, and she made an effort to make sure she didn't take out her paranoia and frustration on him. It wouldn't to their relationship any good, she was still rational enough to realise that.

However the effort of controlling her emotions left her fractious and drained by the time cheer practice rolled around. The sight of Chloe, Olivia and Brianna did nothing to help matters, in fact, Lily became livid upon setting eyes upon them.

They began by warming up, then they moved into practicing a routine. Lily stood out the front for the beginning to give instructions, as she usually did, before joining in on the second run through.

While standing out the front Lily was focused on the moments of Brianna, Chloe and Olivia.

"Olivia, that's sloppy! Not good enough, work harder or I'll find somebody else to fill your spot," Lily informed her.

The girls looked taken aback by Lily's unusually harsh comments and Olivia looked annoyed.

"Brianna, what do you think this is? The first grade? Get in time with everyone else," Lily roused.

"Chloe, for goodness sake at least pretend that you know what you're doing," Lily added in frustration.

By this point all of the team were looking at Lily in wonder. They'd never heard such harsh, and largely, unnecessary words from her.

As the girls moved around to move into their pyramid Lily yelled, "Stop! I'm making some changes."

The girls looked incredulously at her, the pyramid was set up according to size, so any changes would be an unwise choice.

"Chloe, you'll move off the top and onto the bottom to be next to Brianna, and Olivia, you can move from the middle to be next to Chloe. The three of you appear to be fond of spending time together," Lily said cattily.

"Lily, can I talk to you for a minute?" Keira asked, her voice confident.

"Fine," Lily said in frustration.

"Take five girls," Keira instructed. The fact that she'd just taken authority was lost on no one.

Keira pulled Lily off to the side and said in a low voice, "Lily Kane, what the hell is the matter with you?"

"What ever do you mean?" Lily asked coldly.

"Lily, you're never like this. You're being harsh, overly bossy, **unfair** and totally insane. Why on earth would you think about changing the pyramid formation?" Keira demanded.

Lily's face crumpled. "Oh Keira, I've turned into some raging, insecure, paranoid, jealous bitch!" Lily wailed.

"What are you going on about?" Keira asked, not completely following.

"I had this dream, and it was awful, and then those girls were flirting with him at lunch, and I just don't know if he loves me. I mean, you know how he was before," Lily blubbered incoherently.

Luckily, Keira quickly worked out what her best friend meant, and why she'd turned into a basket case. She put her arms around Lily and hugged her, then said comfortingly into her ear, "I do know how he was before, and he is different now. Sweetie, I don't know if he is in love with you, but it's pretty obvious that he cares a lot about you. So why don't you take a few deep breathes and calm down. Then later on when you're in your right mind, maybe you should talk to him about this."

Lily gave her a fragile smile and said, "I'm a nut job."

"Well, not quite," Keira allowed smiling. "Now, why don't you go home early, you sound like you need a nap and some chocolate. I'll take over here and fix things. I'll put your actions down to a headache or something."

Lily nodded and walked off dazedly towards her things and left, eternally grateful for her best friend.

**AN: Thanks for reading! Please review :)**


	25. Chapter 24 She's Everything

**AN: So this is my regular update day (every second day) at the moment, but I almost didn't, seeing as I only got one review from the last chapter. I figure people aren't that interested anymore, so I thought about discontinuing the story. I'll keep going for now, but if interest stays died down, I might wrap it up pretty soon.**

Chapter 24 – She's everything

_She's a warm conversation, that I wouldn't miss for nothing_

On Monday at lunch Lily and Liam were sitting alone, they had walked off together and no one else had joined them. Lily was sitting with her back up against Liam's chest, and he had his arms wrapped around her waist.

"I'm going to be glad when the basketball season is over," Lily admitted. "I love cheering, but it's all getting a bit much, what with school work and being cheer captain. Then we'll be moving towards finals."

"You deserve a break babe," Liam said. "You've been working hard all senior year. I'll be looking forward to having you watch my baseball games when the season starts."

"Really?" Lily asked. "I won't be intruding on guy time? Are you sure you wouldn't rather be sitting with your friends now?"

"Lily! What do you mean? Of course I want to be with you now, and of course I want you to come to my games. You are the most beautiful girl I know, and you're my girl, I'm always going to want you around," Liam replied seriously. "What did you mean by that?"

The truth was, that even though Lily had tried to calm down and think rationally about Liam and their relationship, she was still feeling unsure. The fours days between her meltdown and the talk they were having now hadn't been long enough for Lily to work up the courage to talk to Liam about her insecurities.

"Oh nothing, I was just being silly," Lily said, brushing her outburst off.

"Okay," Liam said, accepting her answer. Liam had a way with girls, but if he completely understood them, he would've realised that there was more to Lily's questions that just silliness. "Now, I wanted to ask you something," he continued.

"Yes?" Lily asked, curious.

"Well, the Valentine's Day Dance is coming up. So, would you like to go with me?" Liam asked.

"Of course," Lily replied happily, turning a little to give him a quick kiss. "You know, I kind of like the way Neptune always has a Valentine's Dance, it sort of removes the awkward pressure of what to do on Valentine's Day. Sometimes dates can be a bit staged, or forced, or over the top. But with a dance, you buy the girl some flowers, maybe some chocolates, and spend the night dancing, and with your other friends who are couples."

Liam looked stunned. "You are the most amazing girl, ever. I thought only guys thought like that!"

"It's nice and all that there's a day devoted to love, but really, how special can it be when everyone else shares it? I'd hate to be proposed to on Valentine's Day, it's so cliché," Lily explained.

"I'm going to make sure there is a statue of you put up somewhere, with that quote, and guys everywhere will be eternally glad that you existed," Liam said with a chuckle.

Lily grinned, pleased with his silly remarks.

"Now, I know I've just said all that, but please remember that I have a soft spot for jewellery and flowers," Lily told him impishly.

"Noted," Liam replied. "You know what I have a soft spot for?"

Lily shook her head, then Liam said intensely, "This." He then leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, quickly deepening the kiss.

"Seems reasonable," Lily said breathlessly, once they had broken apart.

The bell rang at that moment, so they stood and made their way to Trig together.

Later that day, in the afternoon, Lily was at cheer practice and Liam was at his house, playing video games with Josh. Liam's friendships with some of the 09er guys had suffered a little as a result of his part in Lily dumping Scott. Ethan and Jim in particular were distant with him, and of course Scott still avoided him as much as he could help it.

Josh however had been Liam's friend first and foremost, and was always available to play video games, surf, or throw a football around whenever Liam wanted.

"Dude!" Josh exclaimed. "That's the fifth time in a row you've accidentally killed me. What gives?"

"Oh sorry man," Liam replied a little sheepishly. "I was just thinking, about Lily."

Josh chuckled and said, "I'm pretty sure that's all you ever do."

"I do not!" Liam protested.

"Seriously, most of the time you sit around with this dreamy look on your face," Josh teased. "The rest of the time you're with Lily, and you just look at her like she's a goddess or something. Next time I see Lily I'm going to ask her if you can have your balls back."

"Hey!" Liam exclaimed. He picked up a cushion off the lounge and threw it forcefully at Josh, who caught it neatly and set it down next to him.

"She doesn't have my balls, in fact, I don't think she realises how much a care," Liam informed Josh. "She totally went girl nutty at lunch today."

"So tell her. Now can we stop talking and start playing before I grow a vagina?" Josh asked.

Liam flipped him off and picked up his controller.

At about this time Lily finished cheer practice and made her way home, where she found her dad and Evelyn in the kitchen. Eva was trying to instruct Duncan on how to help with what she was making with dinner, but he was failing dismally.

Lily looked at them and giggled. "Daddy, it's a wonder I didn't starve with the way your cooking skills are," Lily said laughingly.

"Hey, I hired people, and bought you things that came prepared in a bottle," Duncan defended himself.

"Luckily," Lily retorted. "Anyway, what are you two doing home early, and in the kitchen?"

"We wanted to have a nice family dinner," Duncan explained. "And Eva thought we should cook for you."

"That's so cute," Lily replied. "What's the occasion?"

"Well," Duncan became slowly, sharing a long look with Eva. "We had wanted to wait a little longer to tell you, but our resolve gave out. We were going to tell you at dinner tonight, but…"

"Tell me what?" Lily asked excitedly.

"We're going to have a baby," Eva disclosed softly.

Lily squealed and jumped up and down, then ran around to the other side of the bench and threw one arm around her dad and the other around Eva.

"I'm going to be a big sister," Lily whispered, her eyes misty.

"So you're happy?" Evelyn asked.

"Happy? Of course I'm happy! I've been waiting for siblings for ever! Why were you waiting to tell me?" Lily asked.

"Sweetheart, we had wanted to wait until Eva was past the danger point. You see, she lost a baby a few months ago. We didn't tell you when it happened because we didn't want to upset you, you already had so much going on," Duncan told her gently.

Lily's eyes filled with more tears and she said quietly, "Oh. Well, I'm so glad you're having a baby now! I was hoping you wouldn't be silly and wait until you'd been married a few years."

Eva and Duncan laughed indulgently and Duncan pulled Eva into his arms and hugged her.

"I'm glad you're excited Lily-love," Duncan said. "We're going to wait to tell the others until Eva is three months though, okay?"

"Sure," Lily agreed. "Can I start buying baby things now though?"

_She's a fighter when she's mad, and she's a lover when she's loving_

On Tuesday after school Lily again told Liam that she had other things to do, namely shopping for baby clothes.

"Lily I know for a fact you've bought dozens of things for the Casablancas' baby and the Fennel's baby. Why on earth do you need to shop more? Can't you just spend the afternoon with me?" Liam whined.

"I was going to tell you, but I don't think I will," Lily said coldly.

"Tell me what? Come on Lily, please tell me. I'm sorry for sounding like a dick, I just want to spend time with you," Liam explained sincerely.

"I really not supposed to tell anyone," Lily began, "but I wanted to tell you."

"So tell me Lil, please," Liam requested.

"Daddy and Eva are going to have a baby," Lily finally told him.

"That's great Lily! I know how long you've been waiting to have siblings. Do you want me to come shopping with you?" Liam asked, genuinely happy for his girlfriend.

"It's a lovely offer Liam, but I don't think it would be a very good image. Girlfriend shopping for baby things with boyfriend? It could get messy if the wrong people saw," Lily explained.

Liam chuckled and said, "Right you are. I guess I'll try and struggle through some trig homework."

"You're not that bad now, and you know it. But how about I come by after shopping and show you what I bought. And maybe you could produce one of those amazing banana smoothies Rosario makes?" Lily suggested.

"I'm sure she'll make you one, she likes you a lot. And yes, that sounds great. I'll see you later my Lily," Liam said in farewell.

Lily was a little startled hearing the term of endearment from Liam, it had been one that Scott had used, and Liam had never used it before. Still, she liked the sound of it from his lips, and she was glad that he thought of her as his.

Lily spent a delightful hour and a half looking through designer baby clothes, already familiar with the best places to shop, thanks to Aubrey, the Casablancas babies and Fennel babies. She had been tempted to buy practical items as well as clothes, but she resisted, knowing that her dad and Eva should be the ones to do it.

When Lily landed on Liam's doorstep he greeted her at the door and after looking at her said, "They're only having one baby right? Not five?"

"You're very funny, but babies need lots of clothes," Lily explained superiorly. "Besides, there are lots sizes."

"But they can't even know what they're having yet, can they?" Liam queried.

"That's why I bought some of each, and some unisex stuff," Lily informed him.

Liam laughed at her enthusiasm and they sat down in his living room, Lily placed comfortably on his lap. The maid brought in Lily's desired drink and Lily thanked her and took a long sip, sighing with satisfaction.

"I don't know how she makes them taste so good," Lily said appreciatively.

"Family secret apparently. I tried to get the information out of her, as a surprise for you, but she wouldn't tell me a thing," Liam said seriously, his eyes filled with mirth.

"I'll get it out of her, one day," Lily promised.

"Want to watch something?" Liam asked, grabbing the remote.

"Sure, let's channel flick," Lily answered.

Liam turned the TV on and the looked through the program list.

"Oh look! _Notting Hill_, I love it!" Lily exclaimed.

"But it's almost at the end," Liam commented.

"That doesn't matter, Hugh Grant's accent alone makes it worth watching," Lily informed him.

"Steady on old chap," Liam said in affected British accent.

"Keep trying dear, you might get there eventually," Lily said in a condescending voice, teasing him.

Liam heaved a great sigh and pretended to be dejected, then turned on the movie.

Julia Roberts was standing in Hugh Grant's book store near the end of the movie and Lily and Liam were just in time to hear her say, "I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love me."

Liam looked at Lily, presuming that she would have a dreamy look on her face, and was surprised to see her face contorted, as if she was in pain.

In a sudden moment of clarity, Liam realised that he had never told Lily in so many words how he felt about her, and judging by her behaviour, she was upset about it.

"Lily, look at me," Liam instructed.

"Yes?" Lily said, her voice calm, a forced smile on her face.

"I think we should talk about something. You've been acting strange for a little why, and I think I know why, and it's my fault," Liam began.

Lily stiffened in his arms. "Lil, don't be like that. There's nothing to worry about, you just need to sit there and listen, and maybe answer a couple of questions."

"I know I haven't exactly told you how I feel about you, and I guess that's because I don't really have much experience at being in a relationship, but that doesn't mean I don't care about you, because I do. Has that been bothering you?" Liam asked.

Lily lowered her lashes and wouldn't look at him. "Lily, come on, if we can't talk about this, then where does that leave us?"

"I know!" Lily snapped. "I just, I guess I feel stupid. I have been upset about that I guess. I've been getting all paranoid and insecure, and it's been making me a bitch."

"I know I don't exactly have the best track record," Liam admitted. "But it's different for me this time, and I know they're just words, but I've been working hard to prove them."

"Part of me knows that, then the other part of me is paranoid," Lily said sadly.

"What have you been most paranoid about?" Liam asked curiously.

"Other girls flirting with you, you getting tired of me," Lily said in a whisper.

Liam looked at her intently and said, "I'm never going to get tired of you. I love you Lily Kane, and I'm not just saying that to prove my point. I've never told a girl I love her before, and I love you. I don't even need you to say it back, and I'll keep telling you I love you, because I do, and to help you not feel paranoid. In the end I'll prove that I'm not the jerk I was before."

"Gee," Lily said slowly. "I wish I'd recorded that, you could been in your own movie and that could be a famous love quote."

"Thanks Lil, but please be serious, no using humor as a deflection," Liam said gently.

"I love you too, I guess that's why I've been so crazy and have been feeling insecure. I never have been before, and I guess that scares me, because I already feel so much for you," Lily said quietly.

"Why didn't you talk to me about this before?" Liam asked.

"Because I'm an idiot," Lily said ruefully.

"Yeah, but at least you're my idiot," Liam teased.

"Hey, don't agree with me!" Lily exclaimed.

Liam chuckled and said, "Fine, you're my beautiful, intelligent, wonderful girlfriend, who I love. Better?"

"Much," Lily said contentedly, snuggling into his arms.

_And she's everything I ever wanted, and everything I need_

On Wednesday at school Lily was all sunny smiles as she walked down the hall with Liam, their hands intertwined.

Keira watched them, looking adoringly at one another, and she noticed the look of peace and contentment on Lily's face. She knew she must have talked to Liam about her fears, and that he must've eased them, substantially. Keira was a little relieved, she wasn't in the mood for any more relationship drama.

She walked over to the couple, where Liam was leaning against the lockers, and Lily was rummaging inside hers, sneaking loving glances at him. Just Keira reached them, Liam snaked an arm around Lily's waist and kissed her.

"Hello you two, just a quick bulletin to let you know that you are **not** the only two people alive," Keira in formed them teasingly.

Liam merely ignored her and Lily glared at her best friend.

"Thank you, darling best friend. I must remember to remind you of that next time you and Ethan are being all mushy in public," Lily retorted.

"Ah, somewhere with the boys, I think," Keira replied vaguely, knowing very well that he and Scott had disappeared down another hallway as soon as Lily and Liam had been sighted.

"Keira, you don't have a very good poker face. In fact, you might want to ask Aunt Veronica for some lessons. Anyway, I know you're not telling me the full story," Lily admonished.

"Lily," Keira said awkwardly, glancing at Liam.

"Liam can cope, he's a big boy," Lily said impatiently. "Now what's up with Scott?"

"Oh nothing really, he just isn't really coping with seeing you and Liam together. He's trying, but Ethan and Jim have been helping him avoid you," Keira explained.

"Helping? I'm sure they're helping," Lily seethed. "How are Scott and I ever supposed to be friends again if they let him indulge in sulking and denial. Oh Keira, stop looking at Liam as if he's about to snap. He's not, are you dear?"

"Nope, too busy being mesmerised by your fury," Liam replied impertinently.

"Well, I wished I'd left you alone in your sappy mood," Keira muttered.

Fortunately, Lily heard her and her normal good nature regained control and she let out a giggle.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry. I've flown off the handle again. Sorry Keira darling. I will be having words with Ethan though, and probably Scott too," Lily informed Keira and Liam.

Seeing both of their wary faces Lily said, "Don't worry, I'll be nice. I'll just talk to them at lunch or something."

With that Lily walked off down the hall, Keira and Liam following in her wake. Liam shook his head ruefully, he was completely mesmerised by Lily Kane, in all her moods. He love the way her eyes blazed when she was mad, the way they twinkled when she was teasing. The way her long blonde hair fluttered in the breeze. The way she made him burn all over with just one kiss. The way the gentle curves of her body felt and looked. The way she kept surprising him, no matter whether it was a good or bad surprise. He loved all of her, and he was beginning to realise that this was what it meant to be in love.

At lunch, Lily walked over to where Scott was sitting with Jim and Ethan. She sat down next to Ethan and across from Scott and Jim.

She looked at Jim and said pleasantly, "Shoo! These two can fill you in later if necessary. Go find Mia before I change my mind and tell you off too."

Jim left, sending pitying looks at Ethan and Scott.

"Hi boys," Lily said in an overly cheerful tone. "I just thought I'd stop by and say hi, seeing as I haven't seen either of you around much. I find that kind of weird Ethan, seeing as you're my best friend's boyfriend. Uh huh, let me finish talking before you make excuses Ethan, or you might find I'm not so cheerful anymore. Unfortunately I've been susceptive to strange mood swings of late."

Catching Ethan's smothered grin Lily said tartly, "I cannot be pregnant, so be very careful where you smirk masters. Now, where was I? Oh, right. Now Scott, I know I promised you space, and I know I hurt you, and that it's been hard. We've been over this a few times, but you need to stop avoiding me. It keeps the rest of the school gossiping, and it lessens our chance at regaining a friendship. And Ethan, it lessens our chance of our group returning to completely happy dynamics. Now, do I need to write this down, or did you get all that?"

"Got it," Ethan said, nodding dumbly.

"You bet Lil," Scott added with a sheepish smile. "We'll be good, we promise."

This was said a little mockingly, but Lily let it slide, figuring it was only fair after everything.

**AN: Thanks for reading, I'd really appreciate it if you reviewed.**


	26. Chapter 25 Sparks Fly

**AN: Finally, here's my update! Sorry for the wait, thanks for your patience and your kind reviews. I really appreciate it all.**

Chapter 25 – Sparks Fly

_Drop everything now, meet me in the pouring rain_

"Can't you tell me what your dress is like?" Liam whined as he and Lily walked into the school together on Monday morning.

"Liam," Lily chided gently. "I can't tell you because I haven't bought it yet. The dance isn't for over two weeks."

"Don't you girls shop months in advance?" Liam asked jokingly.

"Not if we want the current fashion," Lily retorted jokingly. "It's strange having a school dance on a Wednesday, but I guess you do what the calendar tells you when it comes to holidays."

"I wish they were letting us have the Thursday off," Liam grumbled.

"Why do you want to know what my dress is like anyway?" Lily asked curiously. "I was pretty sure you tended to be more interested by what was underneath."

Liam's eyes darkened and he replied, "Oh, I'm **very** interested in that. But I wanted to know, because, well you know, it's it custom to get a corsage or something?"

Lily's eyes softened and she smiled gently, "You're really very sweet sometimes. As soon as I know what I'm wearing I'll give you some ideas. But for now, you can be pretty sure that a wrist corsage will work the best."

"Right, wrist corsage," Liam muttered. "Remind me to ask Mom exactly what that is," he mumbled, mainly to himself.

Lily grinned at him, the expression of concentration on his face was very endearing.

"Right, where were we?" Liam asked, after cementing the idea of a wrist corsage in his mind.

"We're at school dear," Lily teased. "Remember? We attend Neptune High, we're seniors, it's a Monday in January, so we're at school."

"Very funny Lily," Liam said dryly. "What had we been talking about?"

"I don't rightly know," Lily replied.

"Oh well. How's Eva?" Liam asked, lowering his voice.

"She's doing pretty well. She's almost ten weeks, I think, so they're almost ready to tell people. They're so excited, and so I am. Daddy already has her only part time at the Sherriff's station, he's being so careful," Lily answered in a hushed tone.

To the masses of students around them, it merely looked like they were sharing a private, romantic conversation, so it didn't occur to people to try and listen in on what was sure to consist of a lot of love. Lily had bet on this when she decided to answer Liam's question where they were.

"So, I get the feeling that I won't be seeing much of you this summer, what with all of the babies you'll have to play with," Liam remarked with a chuckle.

"Aubrey, Caroline, Justin, Casablancas baby 2, Fennel baby 2," Lily listed. "My little brother or sister," she added in a hushed tone. "Yep, I can pretty much set up my own day care centre," Lily chuckled.

"Exactly my point," Liam said forlornly.

"Don't worry, I'll have plenty of time for you, I promise," Lily said, giving him a quick kiss.

"Good, I'd hate to spend my whole summer playing video games," Liam replied.

Lily just grinned at him, glad that he shared her opinion on a summer of video games.

They parted ways after this, both heading to their first class, and didn't see each other again until lunch.

Lily slid into a lunch table where Keira was sitting with Ethan, Melanie and Michael. Liam followed her and sat next to her.

"Gee, I hate to sound like something out of an _Austen_ novel, but it looks like rain. Actually, it looks more like it's going to storm," Lily mused.

"Rain, in Neptune?" Keira asked, feigning shock.

"It is pretty uncommon for rain Keira," Melanie added.

"I know, idiot!" Keira retorted.

Melanie pulled an unladylike face at her and they all laughed.

"Good think I didn't drive the Porsche today, I hate having to stuff around with the roof," Liam remarked.

"I bet," Ethan said. "It is good that it doesn't rain often here for that reason."

"And apart from that it makes life a lot easier," Michael remarked dryly. "Sport is never rained out, our plans are hardly ever affected by the weather."

"Oh my God, I can't actually believe we're still talking about the weather!" Lily exclaimed. "Please, can we talk about anything else?"

Liam chuckled and said, "What, do you have some urgent talking to do about the newest Alexander McQueen line?"

"Dude, you know the name of a designer she likes?" Michael asked, incredulous.

"What, she talks a lot about clothes," Liam protested.

"I do not, you're just really attentive," Lily retorted.

"Gee, those clouds really do look dark. I bet it's raining before school's over," Liam predicted, trying to deflect.

The others chuckled at his discomfort. It was usual to see Liam caught like that, he was usually in control and unflappable, mainly due to large quantities of over-confidence.

As Liam had predicted, it was pouring by the end of school and the students of Neptune High dashes to their cars, books and jackets held over their heads. Hardly anyone in Neptune bothered to have an umbrella on stand by.

Lily and the girls did their cheer practice in the gym that afternoon. At the end of practice, Lily found an umbrella on top of her things, accompanied by a note which said, "Stay dry, love you. Liam x."

Lily read the note and a besotted grin spread across her face. Upon taking a closer look at the umbrella she realised that it was a Burberry one. Liam must have go to the mall, bought it for her, and dropped it back to school. He really was too sweet sometimes.

Lily walked out into the rain, walking normally, as her friends raced to their cars. She slung her bad inside and quickly stepped in after it, shaking the water off her umbrella and setting it in the backseat.

She drove home sedately and pulled into the driveway, grabbed her things and went inside under the protection of her umbrella. She dumped her things in the entranceway, including her new umbrella and walked through the house to the kitchen.

The lights were on, but nobody was home, which was very odd. Lily often arrived home to an empty house, but she had been fairly certain that Eva was only working a short day, and was supposed to be home.

She stopped short once she reached the kitchen, paralysed by the sight before her. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest then she shrieked.

She whirled around, cell phone in hand and raced out into the rain, her umbrella forgotten.

She jumped into her car and squealed out of the driveway, dialling her dad's number. It went to message bank. She tried Evelyn, then Veronica, then Logan and last Mac.

Mac answered, "Lily?"

"Aunt Mac, what's happened? I can't get onto anyone," Lily's panicked voice asked.

"Sweetheart, calm down. We're all at the hospital, just come here as quickly as you safely can," Mac instructed soothingly. "It's very wet, don't drive stupid, okay Lily?"

"Okay," Lily agreed, slightly calmer.

"We're all in the emergency room, okay sweetheart?" Mac told her.

"Be there soon," Lily replied and hung up.

She tried to drive carefully as Mac had asked, but her imagination was working overtime, imagining all the horrible possibilities that could explain the circumstances.

At the hospital, Lily parked haphazardly and raced inside. She quickly found everyone assembled in the waiting room.

"What's happened?" Lily asked, her voice choked with emotion.

Logan walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close.

"Everything's going to be alright Lily, the doctor said so," Logan said soothingly.

"What happened?" Lily asked again.

Veronica took her hand and began to explain things in a low voice.

When she was finished Lily felt numb. Tears streamed down her cheeks, mingling with the wetness of the rainwater that was still there.

"No, no, no, no," Lily said, her voice sounding foreign to her own ears.

She once again turned and whirled away, everyone watching her leave in despair.

Logan moved to go after her but Veronica placed a hand on his arm and said, "She needs a minute, she'll be back."

Lily however had run out into her car and had pulled out of the parking lot and drove back through the streets of Neptune.

She dialled Liam's familiar number and when he didn't pick up she left a message on his voicemail.

"Liam," she began brokenly. "I need you please, just come and find me."

_Kiss me on the sidewalk, take away the pain_

Lily sat on the beach, some way down from her house, oblivious to the rain. She was soaked to the skin and if she had not felt so numb, she would have been very numb, still dressed in only her little cheer shorts and tank top. Her long hair was soaked as well, and bits of hair that had escaped her ponytail were plastered to her face.

This was where Liam found her, about half an hour after she had called him.

He had found her car at her house, but the place was locked, so he went out onto the beach, sure that he would find her there.

He had spotted her small figured through the rain, hunched up on the sand. He began to run towards her, yelling, "Lily!"

She didn't make any move to acknowledge that she'd heard him.

He sat down on the sand next to her and pulled her into his arms. He was almost as wet as she was by this time, and if even he had been as dry as a bone, he wouldn't of cared.

Lily buried her face in his chest and sobbed.

"Sweetheart, can you tell me what happened?" Liam asked in concern, once Lily's tears had abated a bit. The rain had lessoned substantially by this point too, only a light drizzled was still falling.

"Eva…the baby," Lily choked out. "She lost the baby."

Liam's heart ached for his girlfriend, knowing her desire for a baby brother or sister, but was still a little puzzled about the extremity of her reaction.

"How did you find out?" Liam asked gently.

"I got home after practice," Lily began slowly. "No one was home, but I noticed that there were lights on, which was strange. I went into the kitchen, and the floor was covered in blood. It was smeared over the floor with footprints. I called everyone, and no one answered. I didn't know what had happened, someone could have been shot for all I could work out. Aunt Mac finally answered her phone, and told me to come to the hospital."

Lily paused then, taking a shuddering breath and steeling herself for what was to come. Liam just held her tightly in his arms, stroking her head that was resting on his chest.

"I got to the hospital, and they were all there, Aunt Veronica, Uncle Logan, Aunt Mac, Uncle Dick," Lily continued. "They all looked so serious and upset, and I didn't know if it was Daddy or Eva who had been hurt. I had all these crazy scenarios running through my mind. Then Aunt Ronica explained what had happened."

Lily stopped again, silent tears had started to stream down her face again.

"She said, she said, that Daddy arrived home and Eva was lying on the floor and there was blood everywhere. He raced her to the hospital, but there was nothing to be done. She lost the baby, my baby brother or sister," Lily finally managed.

Liam just tightened his hold on her, and his own eyes filled with tears briefly, greatly saddened by Lily's loss, and Duncan and Eva's loss too. He checked himself quickly, Lily didn't need his tears now, she just needed him to be strong.

"Come on baby," he said, standing up and picked her up off the sand. "We'd better go and get you dried off. People are probably worried sick about you."

Lily nodded dumbly and let him lead her up the beach, back to her house. He took her key from her and opened the back door. She stood rooted on the stop, as if unable to move.

"Come on inside, we need to dry you off Lily," Liam said gently.

Lily shook her head violently, then lunged at him, kissing him furiously. He kissed her back, feeling her urgent need.

Liam wasn't sure how long she would have been prepared to stand there kissing him, avoiding reality, but he wasn't about to find out. He pulled back and said, "I love you, but this isn't going to help now."

"I can't go in there," Lily gasped out, as if in great pain.

Liam then understood. She'd have to go through the kitchen, or past it, and that was where her nightmare had begun.

"Shh, it's alright. We'll go around the front," Liam told her gently.

He closed the door, then led her around the side of the property, then up to the front of the house. Lily's steps became slower and slower, and heavier and heavier.

By the time the front door was opened Liam took one look at her and realised that she wasn't capable of walking anymore. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her up the stairs.

Once up in the bathroom he set her down on the floor and started the shower running. As the water began spurting out, he turned back to Lily and gently slipped her wet shirt off and over her head and dropped it on the floor.

"Can you take your shoes off for me?" Liam asked gently.

In reply, Lily kicked them off.

Liam then pulled her shorts off, then her bra and panties followed. It was a very intimate, tender moment, but there was nothing sexual in it. Liam was entirely focused on Lily's wellbeing.

He helped her into the shower and once she was under the hot water she said in a small voice, "You're cold and wet too."

"I'll go use the downstairs bathroom," Liam replied. "You just get warm."

"You can stay with me," Lily offered.

"Another time," Liam said gently.

He disappeared out of the room and went downstairs, leaving Lily to her thoughts. He hoped the warmth of the shower would revive her and give her some strength.

He quickly stripped and showered. Once out he grabbed an available towel, then quickly pondered out what he could do for dry clothing. He gave up and went back upstairs to Lily, who was still in the shower, a towel secured at his waist.

She was looking much better, her colour was more normal and her eyes weren't as lacklustre.

He picked up her towel and held it out for her. She turned off the shower and stepped out and he wrapped the towel around her.

"Do you want me to dry you?" Liam offered quietly.

Lily nodded, almost imperceptibly.

Liam quickly and gently dried her off then wrapped her towel back around her.

He led her into her room and she sat down on her bed.

"You need to get dressed, my Lily," Liam instructed gently.

"So do you," Lily retorted gently.

Liam was glad to see a little of her spark returning.

"Well, strangely enough, my clothes are wet, and I don't tend to carry a spare set around," Liam teased.

"How strange. Don't most people?" Lily asked, feigning perplexity.

"Yes, well, I'm not most people," Liam remarked. "Come on, let's find you some clothes."

Lily wandered into her closet, pulled out some underwear, a pair of jeans, a shirt and a jacket. She slowly and deliberately dressed, while Liam sat patiently on her bed, waiting for her. While he watched he couldn't help but admire her figure, after all, he was still a warm blooded male.

Once she was dressed, Lily looked calculatingly at him.

"Well, you can't come with me to the hospital in only a towel," she remarked.

"Don't worry, I messaged Josh and he's going to bring me by something. I think he was pretty confused, but he didn't ask questions at least," Liam told her. "You want me to come with you, back to the hospital?"

"You'll come with me, won't you?" Lily asked in a small voice.

"Of course, I just didn't know if you'd be ready or not," Liam said in explanation.

"I need to be ready, I can't keep wallowing in my grief," Lily said firmly, as if still trying to convince herself.

At this point Lily heard her phone buzz from it's place in her bathroom. She quickly moved away and came back, looking guilty.

"I have about ten messages on here. I've worried everyone a lot," Lily said sadly.

"Don't worry too much. Just send Veronica a message, I'm sure she'll tell the others. They all love you and they'll understand," Liam said insightfully.

Lily set to sending her message, and Liam went downstairs to answer the doorbell and hopefully be presented with some dry clothes.

His wish was answered, and after a quick word of explanation to Josh, he went back upstairs to Lily and dressed quickly.

"Ready to go?" Liam asked, holding out a hand to her.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Lily answered.

_Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile_

Once at the hospital Lily was allowed to go into Eva's room, where Duncan was naturally stationed, holding his wife's hand comfortingly.

The scene that followed in there was both tender and heart wrenching, and many tears were shed.

Duncan left the room, leaving both his girls in Eva's bed. Lily had crawled into bed with Eva at some point during their conversation, both of them had been crying. He took one last look at them, Lily snuggled up beside her step-mother. He was glad that they both loved each other, he was just devastated that their bond had to be tested by the tragedy of losing the baby.

He walked tiredly out of the room where he found Logan, Liam and Amanda. Amanda was in the middle of a shift, she was only about four months pregnant, so she was still working. She appeared to be explaining things to both Logan and Liam.

Duncan looked at Logan, knowing that his oldest friend had stayed to support him. Veronica had of course had to take Aubrey home, and Dick and Mac had also left with Caroline.

Duncan studied Liam briefly. He hadn't been entirely sure what to think of his daughter's new boyfriend. He'd heard Lily vent about him before they'd started dating, so most of the things he'd heard had been bad. He hadn't had much of a chance to get to know Liam yet, but the fact that he was there are the hospital, and had clearly been supporting and comforting Lily, was a good sign in Duncan's books. If you're going to lose your daughter to another man, you want him to treat her right.

"DK," Logan said quietly. "Are Lily and Eva alright?"

"They're both going to be alright," Duncan replied, relief in his tone.

"What's wrong with Lily?" Amanda asked, puzzled. She knew what was wrong with Eva of course, she had just been explaining everything to Logan and Liam after all.

"She was pretty upset," Logan offered. "Ran out of here a few hours ago, crying. We didn't hear from her for ages. Liam only just brought her back here."

Amanda nodded, quickly putting the pieces together.

"What did happen exactly?" Duncan asked Liam.

Liam told them a highly condensed version of the story, glossing over some of the less parent-friendly details.

"Thank you Liam," Duncan said sincerely.

Liam looked a little uncomfortable at Duncan's thanks.

"It was nothing," he replied. "I'd do anything for her."

"I appreciate that," Duncan said. "Eva has to stay the night here, and I won't leave her." Duncan paused, contemplating whether or not he should continue. He decided to and said, "Do you think you would take Lily home, just make sure she eats and gets to bed? She won't go to school tomorrow, but I still don't want her to get tired and unwell."

"Sure," Liam agreed easily.

Logan looked a little curious at his friend's choice. Lily could have easily stayed with him and Veronica, or even have gone to her grandparents', or the Casablancas'.

Duncan caught his look and said, "You and Veronica have enough on your hands, as do Mac and Dick. Lily would rather be at home than with Dad, I think you can understand that Logan."

Logan could indeed understand.

"I'll send Lily out soon," Duncan told Liam. "I'll be home early tomorrow morning, to check on her, and take care of a few things."

The message was clear, Duncan would be home the next morning, so no funny business.

Liam nodded solemnly, completely understanding.

Logan shot Liam a quick look of sympathy. He adored Lily, but he still remembered what it was like to be young and in love, and Keith had been a pretty terrifying figure of a father.

Duncan disappeared back into Eva's room, and Lily came out of it a short while later.

Logan and Amanda both hugged her, then Liam took her hand and she nodded.

"I'll see you guys later," she told them softly.

Then she and Liam walked outside together, and made their way back to her house.

Once back Liam led her into the living room, knowing the kitchen was not an option. He called quickly for some take out, then he called his mom and asked her to send someone over to clean up the kitchen.

Liam joined Lily on the lounge as they watched TV in silence and waited for their take out.

Once it had arrived and they'd eaten it was quite late in the evening.

"Come on, I think you'd better get some sleep now," Liam said gently, taking her hand and leading her towards the stairs.

She let him guide her up to her room and he waited patiently while she slipped into her pyjamas.

Liam tucked her into her bed, kissed her forehead, then turned to leave.

"Aren't you going to stay with me?" Lily asked quietly.

"I don't think your dad would like that. Actually, I know he won't like it," Liam replied.

"Please, just stay, I need you," Lily said in a small voice.

Liam smiled at her in defeat. Her heart warmed at the sight, and she knew she'd won.

He kicked his shoes off, then stripped down to his briefs.

"I'll stay with you until you're asleep," Liam said, slipping into bed with her. He set his alarm for very early the next morning, just to be on the safe side.

"Thank you Liam," Lily said, snuggling into his warm, firm body. "I love you."

"And I love you," he turned, suppressing a groan at the feeling of her soft, inviting form, pressed against him. It was going to be a long night.

**AN: Thanks for reading, please review, I'd love to hear your thoughts :)**


	27. Chapter 26 Anything

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter (particularly Ali-cat, Angel and Nichole who I can't reply to). I'm sorry it was a such a sad chapter, and I probably should've left a warning at the beginning as loss like that can be a sensitive topic. Sorry about that!**

Chapter 26 – Anytime

_Anytime you feel like you just can't hold on_

Sunday afternoon, almost two weeks after the disastrous Monday, Lily was at home, curled up in bed with a box of chocolate, watching _The Notebook_.

"Lily Kane, what the hell are you doing?" Keira demanded upon entering her room.

"I'm watching TV in bed, what does it look like?" Lily retorted. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Checking up on you. I know it's been a hard two weeks, but really, you can't sit around moping. We've all been patient with you, but you've got to keep on living," Keira said as kindly as possible.

"I'm not moping," Lily protested.

"Oh please, it's a beautiful winter's afternoon in California, you have a hot boyfriend and heaps of friends, and you're up here, watching _The Notebook_. Which, I might add, is potentially the world's most depressing movie," Keira replied.

"Okay, so maybe you have a point," Lily conceded, as if in great pain. "But _The Notebook_ isn't actually that depressing."

"Lily, they die in a nursing home, they like euthanized each other or something, and she can't remember anything. It's so miserable. Plus, they spend all that time apart, and his heart is broken. See, depressing," Keira reasoned.

"Okay, so parts of it are depressing, but other parts aren't, other parts are wonderful, it's just life," Lily said.

"Exactly Lil, that's what I've been trying to explain to you, it's life, love, tragedy, you just have to get up and come do something," Keira urged.

"Okay. What were you thinking?" Lily asked.

"Shopping?" Keira suggested. "I have a dress for the dance on Wednesday, but I doubt that you do."

Lily frowned and said, "You're right, I don't have a dress. Crap. I was meant to tell Liam what he should get in the way of a corsage."

"I don't think he'll be too upset about that," Keira said dryly. "He's been a bit too busy worrying about you."

"Oh, right, that," Lily said a little shame-facedly.

"Yes, that. So if not for you, for Liam, we're going to get you a killer dress, and probably some new shoes, we both know you love new shoes, then you're going to go and see Liam before you come home and have dinner. Then tomorrow you'll be at school, and making an effort to join in," Keira instructed.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Lily said quickly. "Let me throw some clothes on."

She disappeared into her closet, quickly pulling on a light sweater and a pair of jeans. She ran a comb through her hair, then slipped her feet into some flats, and rejoined Keira in her room.

"Ready?" Keira asked.

"Yep, I'll just grab my purse, and I'll speak to Dad and Eva on our way out," Lily replied.

They found Duncan and Eva downstairs, both watching TV on the lounge together.

"We're going to go shopping, I need a dress for Wednesday, if that's alright," Lily announced.

"Sure," Duncan agreed easily. "Will you be back for dinner?"

"Yeah, in time for dinner," Lily confirmed. "Do you want me to bring anything back?"

"I've got something sorted," Eva answered. "Have fun, and we'll see you later."

Lily turned and walked into the hall, and just before Keira turned to follow her, she caught the large, "Thank you," that Duncan mouthed at her.

She grinned in reply and gave them a little wave before scurrying after Lily.

Once in the car Lily said, "I haven't even asked you what your dress is like."

"I know, I figured I'd tell you if you didn't ask in the end," Keira said with a chuckle.

"Well, what's it like?" Lily asked expectantly.

"Well, it is Valentine's Day, but I thought I'd stay away from the red," Keira began. "I went with a creamy ivory colour instead. It's strapless and fitted, with a black sash around the waist. I personally think I look amazing in it, but you'll see me tomorrow."

"You always look amazing," Lily said. "And you know it."

Keira just grinned impishly back.

Once they were browsing through dresses in the mall Keira said, "So, do you have any idea what type of dress you want?"

"Well, not red," Lily answered. "But I do want something a little Valentine's traditional, and I want to look amazing for Liam, but I don't want to look slutty."

"Right, I think I actually know just the dress," Keira said excitedly. "Come with me!"

She actually grabbed Lily by the hand and dragged her a little way across the floor. Lily smiled at Keira's enthusiasm, and began to feel excited as well, Keira's mood was too infectious to ignore.

Keira found the dress she was after and held it up in triumph.

Lily smiled at it delightedly.

"You're a genius! It's just right. I'll go try it on," Lily exclaimed, taking the dress and heading quickly towards the nearest change room.

Keira followed Lily and when Lily came out of the change room Keira was waiting to admire her friend.

"You look beautiful Lil," Keira said honestly.

"Are you sure it's not too much? I mean, the dress is lovely, but it's just a school dance, and I pretty much always wear floor length gowns," Lily said, unsure of what to do.

"We live and go to school in Neptune, hometown of the rich and famous. You're never going to be overdressed at a school dance by wearing a floor length dress," Keira replied.

"You're right," Lily allowed.

"You think you'd know that by now, especially seeing as that's the fourth time you've said it today," Keira teased. "Now, let's go buy that then we'll go and get shoes?"

"Yeah, sounds good. I mean, I do have shoes that I could wear, but really, who can resist new shoes?" Lily asked cheerfully.

Lily walked towards the counter and Keira followed after her, pausing a few times to look at dresses. She looked over at Lily, talking happily with the sales person and marvelled at the good effect such a simple activity like retail therapy had had on Lily. Keira had been right, Lily just needed to get out, and stop brooding. Lily had never been much of a brooder, but when she started she sure became good at it very quickly.

Liam had been patient, tender and loving the two weeks following the loss of the baby, but when that hadn't worked, and Lily was still miserable, Liam had talked to Keira, who had talked to Duncan. They decided to try a new tactic, which had resulted in the shopping. Keira didn't think that one afternoon outing would fix Lily's sadness, but she knew it was a start, and a good one.

_Just hold onto my love and I'll help you be strong_

After Lily and Keira had finished their shopping Keira dropped Lily at Liam's.

Before Lily could ring the bell Liam opened the door, he had been expecting her and therefore had been watching out the window for the better part of half an hour.

"Hey babe," Liam greeted warmly.

Lily stepped inside and into Liam's arms.

"How was your shopping trip?" Liam asked.

"Good, really good," Lily answered happily.

Liam could see the calm in her eyes and that she was much more relaxed, and he sighed in relief, eternally grateful for whatever magic Keira had worked.

"So, I bought a dress for Wednesday," Lily added. "I know I was meant to tell you a while ago, and I'm sorry. Thanks for putting up with me these last couple of weeks."

"Lily, I've never had to 'put up with you'. I love you and I'm always going to be here for you, I'm just sorry there wasn't anything I could do to make you feel better," Liam replied.

"Just having you with me made me feel better, you stopped me from completely breaking down. You were just what I needed, you are what I need," Lily said softly.

Liam just kissed her in reply, and Lily clung to him. She had meant what she said, she needed him, and that wasn't going to change, especially not then.

"So, are you going to tell me about your dress?" Liam asked once they broke apart.

"No, you'll see it on Wednesday. I will tell you colours for the corsage though. Go for pink and white, or cream," Lily instructed.

"I'd better go ring them now then, they're expecting my call," Liam said in reply.

Liam walked out of them room, his smile promising that he would return soon.

Lily snuggled into the lounge, setting her head on a pillow. She felt fairly tired after her afternoon of shopping. She hadn't been sleeping well, and her emotions had been fairly exhausting to live with over the last two weeks, which accounted for her fatigue.

When Liam returned a few minutes later he found her like that, curled up, head on the pillow, eyes closed. He walked quietly over to her then scooped her into his arms, then sat back down, with her on his lap.

She opened her eyes and said, "I wasn't sleeping. You didn't need to pick me up."

"But you are tired," Liam countered. "Besides, I like holding you in my arms."

Lily sighed contentedly and snuggled further into his arms.

Liam kissed her forehead then stroked her head soothingly.

Lily's eyes began to get heavy, then she said sleepily, "Make sure I'm home by dinner time."

"Of course sweetheart," Liam murmured quietly.

Lily eyes dropped shut and Liam flicked the TV on low, watching whatever ball game was on while she slept.

Some time later, Lily wasn't sure how long, she heard Liam saying something indistinct in her ear. As she became more awake she realised he was saying, "It's time to wake up my Lily."

She stirred and opened her eyes and smiled sleepily at him.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Hi," he returned, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "You wanted to be home for dinner?"

"Yeah, I told Daddy and Eva I'd be home," Lily replied, untangling herself and climbing out of Liam's lap.

Liam stood too and said, "Come on, I'll take you home."

Lily picked up her things and Liam took her spare hand in his and they walked out into the dusk together.

"So, which car are we taking?" Lily asked.

"I figured we'd take the Porsche, it's not too cold and you know I love driving it," Liam answered.

"I kind of like driving in it too," Lily replied.

"Do you want to drive?" Liam offered.

Lily looked at him with bright, excited eyes and said, "Can I really?"

"Of course," Liam replied with a chuckle. "I trust you, and if things came to the worst, it's ensured."

Liam held out the keys and Lily took them from him, practically dancing with delight. Liam took her bags and put them in the trunk. Lily had already hopped into the front seat, and Liam moved around to sit in the unfamiliar passenger seat.

"I know you're a good driver, but just remember, it's a lot of machinery," Liam warned. "And it's my baby," he added under his breath.

Lily started the engine, then pulled out onto the street skilfully. She had been taught to drive by Duncan, Veronica, Logan and Dick, which had ensured that she was a very good and confident driver.

Liam watched her drive through the streets, neither of them said anything. Lily was too focused on the joys of driving the car and Liam was too busy watching her enjoyment. He'd been waiting a while to see such a natural, easy look of happiness on her face.

When she pulled up in front of her house she turned off the engine then turned to look at Liam.

"Thank you," she said simply. Then she kissed him tenderly on the lips. He briefly deepened the kiss before she reluctantly pulled back.

"I love you, but I'd better get inside. I get the feeling Daddy actually likes you a bit, and I want to keep it that way," Lily said, smothering a giggle.

"You're right," Liam replied with a sigh.

They both got out, Lily grabbed her things and handed Liam his keys. She gave him a quick peck on the lips before walking towards her front door.

At the front door she waved at him, then turned and put her own keys into the lock.

Liam drove off and Lily stayed standing on her doorstep. It had been easier to be out and cheerful, and to forget the trauma of the last coupel of weeks. It was going to be harder to go inside, see the kitchen, see Eva and not think about how much the loss of the baby still hurt. She knew she couldn't ignore the pain, denial wouldn't help her, but she also couldn't keep wallowing in the pain, Keira was right. She just needed to find a way for the pain to ease. As she paused at the threshold, the only answer she had was time, time all healed wounds. Love and supported helped and went hand-in-hand with time, and she needed to be strong. She had always been strong, and she realised that her misery and weakness must've been hard for her dad and Eva to cope with, especially on top of their pain.

Lily stepped into the house, resolved to stop brooding and to work towards being happy again, especially for her dad and Eva's sakes.

_And now I can be the one to show you everything you missed before, just hold on now cause I can be the one to give you more…Just let me be the one, I can make it alright_

When Wednesday evening arrived, Lily was dressed and waiting for Liam to pick her up.

She was sitting in the living room, carefully perched on the edge of a lounge, so as not to ruin her dress.

"You look lovely Lily," Eva told her sincerely.

"Thank you," Lily replied softly.

"I'm not sure if I should let you go out tonight," Duncan said, half seriously.

"Daddy, don't be silly," Lily said playfully.

Eva looked at Duncan, knowing that he was at least somewhat serious, and he would be even more serious when Liam arrived and say Lily.

At that moment the doorbell rang and Eva stood and said, "I'll get it."

Lily stood too, and Duncan moved to stand next to her and said quietly, "You look beautiful tonight darling. Have fun, okay?"

Lily quickly wrapped her arms around Duncan, and said, "Thank you Daddy, I love you," her voice thick with emotion.

Eva let Liam in and led him through to where Lily and Duncan were still standing.

"Hi Lil," Liam began, then he really noticed his girlfriend's appearance. All other word's fled his mind.

Eventually he managed to add, "You look gorgeous."

Lily blushed prettily and said, "Thank you."

"Hi Mr Kane," Liam said eventually, remembering to greet his girlfriend's father.

"Hi Liam, nice to see you," Duncan returned, trying to mean it, but having trouble, owing to the way Liam was looking at his daughter. Liam wasn't looking at Lily like he was undressing her with his eyes, Duncan would've almost preferred it. No, Liam was looking at Lily like she was the only other person on earth and that he would do anything for her. Liam was in love with his baby girl and judging by the way Lily looked at him, she was in love with him too. Duncan knew he wasn't number one in his baby's life anymore, and the knowledge was very heavy.

"Uh, yeah," Liam said vaugely, still focused on Lily.

Lily giggled and looked at the box in Liam's hand and said, "So, are you going to give me my corsage?"

"Right, of course," Liam said, a little embarassed.

He pulled the corsage out of the box, a wrist corsage, made from cream and pale pink rosebuds. He slipped it on her wrist then said, "Ready to go?"

"Wait," Eva said, before Lily could answer. "We need a few pictures."

As Duncan grabbed his camera, Lily whispered in Liam's ear, "You told me to leave both my wrists bare, shouldn't we wait for photos until the other one has something on it?"

Liam shook his head and said quietly, "Later."

Duncan snapped a few photos, then Lily and Liam walked out to the limo.

As Liam held the door open for Lily he said, "You really do look amazing tonight. I had no idea you would look this stunning. I mean you always look amazing, I just…"

"I've reduced you to a stumbling mess, I must be doing something right," Lily giggled.

Lily really did look amazing. Her dress was an Alexander McQueen, made of pale pink chiffon. It was floor length, and the skirt was pleated. A belt of the same colour cinched the dress at her waist, acentuating her slim figure. It had little cap sleeves and the neckline was right on her collar bone, where her L necklace was just visible. When she walked the pair of cream pumps she wore were just visible. Her hair was pulled back in a low chignon which perfectly allowed her diamond drop pedant earrings to be seen. Her left wrist of course had the corsage on it, and a large cocktail ring, with a pink stone was on her left hand too. Her right wrist was still bare.

Once in the limo Liam pulled out a long box and said, "Happy Valentine's Day Lily."

"You didn't need to get me anything," Lily protested. "I mean, you already sent me chocolates and roses during school today."

"It's our first Valentine's, and silly though the holiday may be, I wanted to do it right," Liam replied. "Go on, open it."

Lily opened the box to reveal an impressive diamond bracelet.

"It's beautiful," she breathed. "How did you know it would match?"

"I know you like your diamonds, and the jeweller mentioned it would go with most things," Liam said offhandly. He picked the bracelet up and secured it on her wrist.

"Thank you, I really love it," Lily told him.

"I'm glad," he replied. "I really love you."

Lily gave a girlish giggle, then her face became serious and said, "You know, a few days ago I couldn't have imagined going out tonight, and feeling happy. But I do, and I feel more than happy, and I don't even feel bad. I know I will probably feel sad again about the baby, but I know I have you, and Keira, and Daddy and Eva, and that makes it alright."

Liam smiled at her, amazed at her thought process and her progress over the last couple of days.

The limo pulled up outside the school and Liam said, "Are you ready to party?"

"No, but I am ready to dance the night away with you," Lily replied cheekily.

"You better believe it," Liam affirmed.

**AN: I've had a request for another story after this, this time going back to featuring Logan and Veronica, thoughts? Please review :)**


	28. Chapter 27 California Gurls

**AN: Hello readers, I've goofed again on my timeline! For the last two chapters I somehow made the dates in 2022, I'm a prize idiot! I've gone back and fixed it lol. Anyway, this chapter is set the week after Valentine's (for all of you people who love details, it's Monday 19th to Sunday 25th for winter break) :)**

**Also, just so you know, my work is doesn't have anyone Beta it, so there are a number of typos for which I am sorry! I will go back and touch them up eventually.**

**Thanks to everyone who's reviewed and alerted :) I really appreciate it!**

Chapter 27 – California Gurls

_You could travel the world, but nothing comes close to the golden coast_

"I love winter break," Lily said, sighing with satisfaction, her exhaled breath appearing as steam.

"It's because you look so cute in ski gear, isn't it?" Veronica teased.

"Aunt Ronica," Lily protested feebly. "You know I love skiing, and the snow."

"Yeah, you do, but you love being dressed fashionably and looking pretty," Veronica accurately retorted.

Veronica and Lily were standing out on the balcony of the Kane's place at Aspen, drinking hot chocolate. It was morning and Lily was dressed for her day's skiing, while Veronica was merely dressed warmly for a day of snow fun with Mac, Aubrey and Caroline.

The Echolls, Kanes and Casablancas families had made the trip to Aspen for winter break. Many of Lily's school friends were also staying in the luxury snow area, as was the habit of 09er families during winter break. The break had fallen the week after Valentine's, the same as the year before, so Saturday morning found the Kanes, Echolls, Casablancas, Keira, Ethan and Liam on the Kane jet.

Ethan, Keira and Liam, and the other Neptune High 09ers, were staying in various other locations, either at family properties, with friends or at expensive resorts. Lily had toyed with the idea of asking if Liam could stay with them, but she figured them being under the same roof for a week, with both her dad and Logan, could prove a little disastrous. Dick and Mac were staying at their own place, otherwise Dick would've been just one more name to add to the list of people who would've been keeping close tabs on her and Liam.

No, Liam staying with Chris and Josh at Josh's family's place was a much better idea. Josh's parents hadn't gone with him, so the boys had the run of the place, which would hopefully prove to be fun later in the week. It also meant that if she and Liam wanted to spend the afternoon alone in his room, without her dad, or any of her adult 'watchers' knowing, they could.

"So yeah, I like to look nice, nothing new," Lily said dismissively. "I know Dad was planning on going up the Thunderbowl run today, is Uncle Logan going with him? Daddy skied some of the tamer runs with Eva on Monday and Tuesday, but she's going to the spa today instead."

"Yeah, he and Dick and your dad are headed that way. I've skied quite a bit over the years, but I've got nothing on them. Years of skiing combined with the fact that they're fearless males, puts them quite out of my league," Veronica remarked.

"Hmm, I don't think being fearless has anything to do with them being better than you," Lily replied. "You're like, the most fearless person I know."

"Well, that may be," Veronica allowed with a smile. "I felt pretty bad putting Aubrey in the child care centre available yesterday, and I know Mac felt bad about leaving Caroline there too. I think they had a good time actually, or as good of a time as an 8 month old can have, but Mac and I had a hard time letting go. Neither of them have been to day care before, we're so flexible with work, all of us, we've kind of spoilt them with parental attention."

"I'm pretty sure they were fine, they seemed happy enough to me, and you guys are great parents, don't sweat it. Besides Aunt Mac was close by anyway, not being able to ski at the moment," Lily reassured her. "Plus, you and Mac are spending all day with them today, and they'll have so much fun in the snow in their little outfits."

Veronica smiled at the thought of her adorable daughter dressed in her new, pink snowsuit.

"Who are you skiing with today?" Veronica asked.

"Keira in the morning, then Liam after lunch," Lily answered. "In fact, I should get going I'm going to meet her on time!"

Lily drained the rest of her drink then flitted inside with her mug and left it in the kitchen.

She went into the drying room downstairs to collect her skis and other equipment.

Once outside she made sure that she had her cell phone safely in a pocket, then she put her skis on and pushed off down the sloping road toward the lift where she'd agreed to meet Keira.

Once she'd met up with Keira and the two of them were on a chair lift together Keira remarked, "I love the annual trip to Aspen and all, but when it gets all cold and windy like it is now, I can't help but miss home, crazy history of Neptune and all."

"Well don't worry, we'll be back soon, to our endless days of near perfect weather," Lily replied cheerfully. "But for the rest of the week I'm going to enjoy the snow and skiing!"

"And Liam," Keira said teasingly.

"Yes, I plan on doing that too," Lily replied serenely. In an abrupt change of topic she said, "I'm glad Scott decided to come. He's always liked it here, so I'm glad we're at a place where he can stand to be around me, in a vague sense of the word."

"Yeah, things are seeming smoother again. He and Ethan are off snowboarding somewhere," Keira replied, as the skied off the chair.

As they made their way to the top of the run Lily said, "I can't imagine why you'd rather snowboard than ski!"

With that the two of them set off down the slope, skilfully navigating their way to the bottom.

Lily's hair was secured in a long ponytail that poked out from underneath her ski helmet and blew gently in the wind as she rocketed sped down the slope. The wind was cold against her cheeks and when she reached the bottom they were a rosy pink.

"I think the first run is the best run of the day," Lily said cheerfully to Keira, who had pulled to a stop beside her. "The snow is so fresh, and it just feels good to get back out here after a night's sleep."

"I completely agree," Keira said. "Let's do that one again, then meet up with the other girls."

_California girls, we're unforgettable_

That afternoon Lily met up with Liam and they skied for a little while, racing each other down some of their favourite runs.

Once they'd pulled to a stop at the bottom of a run Lily moved up as close as she could to Liam, or as close as ski equipment allowed, and said with a little giggle, "So, I'm a bit tired now. I was thinking maybe we should go back to your place, spend some quality time in your bed…"

"If I could drag you there now, I would!" Liam replied, half-seriously. "But seriously, I like your thinking, let's go!"

They pushed off and made their way back to where Liam was staying. After leaving all their ski gear downstairs in the drying room, they walked upstairs together and into Liam's room.

Lily turned to Liam and kissed him heatedly, then pushed him backwards onto his bed. His knees hit the edge and he flopped down onto the bed, then Lily climbed on top of him, then straddled him, continuing to kiss him. She made quick work of his shirt, and he removed her shirt soon after as well.

Once they were down to their underwear, and both breathing heavily, Lily said quietly, "Make love to me Liam."

Liam paused and looked at her seriously. "Are you sure?" Liam asked.

"Yes, I'm sure, I'm asking you aren't I? Lily returned, a little amused. "I'm not a virgin Liam."

"Yeah, I figured that out a little while ago," Liam said dryly, remembering the way she and Scott had acted together after their first time.

"So, I don't want to have to ask you again," Lily said, her voice wavering a little.

"Oh, Lily, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. Of course I want to make love to you, I just wanted to make sure you're ready. I don't want you to regret anything," Liam told her tenderly.

"I could never regret anything with you," Lily replied.

Liam merely reached for his wallet, and once he'd found the protection his was looking for, returned to kissing Lily passionately.

A little while later, Liam hovered just over Lily, their underwear long gone. He looked down at her and she nodded her head ever so slightly.

He leaned down and kissed her and said, "I love you my Lily," and then they began to move as one.

Afterwards they lay tangled together in Liam's bed, their clothes still littered over the floor.

"I'm glad we decided to wait a little while, because that was amazing," Liam told her sincerely.

Lily smiled gently and said, "Yeah, for me too."

Liam thought he saw a little shadow in her eyes and said, "Hey, what's the matter?"

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, a little too quickly.

"Lily, remember before, we talked about being honest with each other? Whatever it is, just tell me," Liam urged gently.

"I'm just being stupid, again," Lily muttered.

"I doubt it, and even if you are, I want to hear about it," Liam pressed.

"I'm just being silly and insecure," Lily mumbled. "It's just, I've only been with one other person, and you've been with many more than that. I just, well, I don't have much experience."

Liam thought about laughing, her thoughts were so preposterous, but he knew she was serious, so laughing was out of the question. He pulled her close and kissed her forehead and said, "I know I've been with quite a few other girls, but none of the mattered, non of them meant anything to me, but you do. With them, it was just sex, with you it's love, which makes it much, much better than any other time. Being with you, was incredible, and it's only going to get better."

Lily sniffled slightly and said, "You always know what to say when I'm having a meltdown."

"I'm supposed to," Liam replied. "I might say stupid stuff at other times, but when you need my, I'm always going to try and be there for you."

"I love you, so much," Lily said fiercely and kissed him again.

"I love you too," Liam replied. "I think it's about time we got dressed though and got back on the slopes. We don't want our absence to be noticed too much."

"You're right," Lily agreed. "Um, Liam, where's my bra?"

Clad in only his boxers, Liam quickly scouted around the room and finally found her bra, under his bed. He held it up in triumph and she grabbed it and put it on.

When they were dressed they went back downstairs and collected their ski gear. They made their way to the nearest chairlift.

Once they were on it Lily said, "So, do you want to come for dinner tonight?"

"Sure," Liam agreed quickly.

"I just figure if we're partying at Josh's tomorrow night, then properly at Mia's on Friday, I should spend tonight with Dad and the others tonight, and I thought you might like to too," Lily rambled on.

"Lily, I already said I'd come for dinner," Liam said, amused.

"Oh, right," Lily giggled.

"I'm happy to have dinner with your family whenever, but I do think it's a good idea. It's best to keep the adults appeased," Liam added.

"Daddy is pretty good as far as parents go, and the others are good as well, but I just like to keep one step ahead, just in case," Lily explained.

"I know Lil," Liam said, giving her gloved hand a squeeze. "Race you to the bottom?"

_Once you party with us, you'll be falling in love_

Thursday had been a beautiful day on the slopes, the air had been crisp, and the sun warm and bright. Fresh powder had fallen the night before, making for ideal skiing conditions.

The party at Josh's was set for the evening, people where welcome to arrive any time after nightfall.

Seeing as they were all in different dwellings in Aspen during the snow season, it was a little impractical for the girls to get ready with one another, as they tended to do before a party. The party was more low key than most of the 09er parties in Neptune, so when Lily dressed she opted for a more casual outfit, a dark green sweater dress. She put in her emerald studs, her usual L necklace and her Valentine's bracelet from Liam.

Upon preparing to leave her room she picked up a black overcoat, black heeled ankle boots, a cream scarf and a matching cream beret. She put the boots into her large tote and went out into the living area.

"You don't seem to be quite fully dressed Lily-love," Logan remarked, from his place on the lounge with Aubrey.

"Can't," Lily replied. "I have to go downstairs and get my snow boots, it's not like I can walk around to Josh's place in my heels."

"Logan," Veronica sighed, pretending to be exasperated with him. "Haven't you learnt anything over the years about girls and their fashion?"

"I do pretty well," Logan defended himself.

"You do," Veronica allowed, kissing him gently on the lips.

Lily gave a little sigh of contentment and said, "You two are so cute. If you were my parents, it would be different, but it's so lovely that you're still so lovey-dovey after all these years. You better be prepared to Aubrey to not be quite so keen on the PDAs though."

Logan put an arm around Veronica's waist, the other one still secured Aubrey in his lap and said, "Well, when you find someone who you love unconditionally, your love for them should never lessen, in fact, I find it grows."

"Uncle Logan, that's pretty much the sweetest thing, but it's something I'd more expect to hear from a girl, not you!" Lily giggled.

"Girls like it when guys are sensitive," Logan said in an exaggerated stage whisper.

"Yeah, but from what I've heard, that's not what caught Aunt Ronica's eye first," Lily said dryly. "I've heard more about jackass ways, snarking, sarcasm, that kind of thing."

"Veronica, you wound me," Logan cried, turning to his wife. "Surely you've told young Lily here more than just my less loving aspects."

"You two are idiots," Veronica said, shaking her head in amusement. "You're going to turn Aubrey's brain to mush with your silly banter."

Logan and Lily grinned twin smiles of mischief and Veronica smothered a tiny sigh. Watching them interact and banter like that reminded her a little of the days when Lilly and Logan had been friends, before they were they were lovers. Their banter had been very entertaining to watch. Veronica looked at Aubrey, and realised that their offspring would have no chance of escaping the sarcastic banter and wit gene. The Casablancas kids would in all likelihood have their own variety of it, and if there were anymore Kanes kids, they would probably end up being skilled in the banter department as well. It was just as well that Wallace and Amanda had sweeter, friendlier personalities. Their children would have to take care of being the peacemakers in the new generation.

"Well, I should go," Lily announced. "Liam just messaged me to say that he's waiting outside to walk me back to Josh's."

"You've trained him well," Logan called to her retreating figure.

Lily turned around and cheekily poked her tongue out at him, and he chuckled in response.

Then he turned to Veronica and said thoughtfully, "She's really something special, isn't she?"

Downstairs, Lily slipped her feet into her snow boots, wrapped herself warmly in her jacket, beret and scarf, pulled her leather gloves on and slung her tote over her shoulder.

Outside she met Liam, placed a quick kiss on his slightly cold lips in greeting.

"It's so strange heading to a party, all rugged up," Lily remarked.

"I kind of like it, you know," Liam countered. "It's kind of like a surprise when we get there, I'll finally get to see what hot little dress you're wearing."

Lily giggled and said, "I suppose. Plus I'll get to put my heels on too, they always make me feel more like partying."

"And they make your legs look even longer," Liam remarked, daydreaming about the idea of Lily in only a pair of heels and her underwear.

Lily caught his look and said, "Mind out of the gutter, dear."

Liam grinned roguishly and replied, "You love me."

"That I do," Lily agreed.

They let themselves into Josh's place, and Liam helped Lily out of her warm things.

They could hear the loud music in the next room and Lily almost involuntarily swayed her hips to the beat as she put her ankle boots on.

"Babe, you look totally hot," Liam said appreciatively, eyeing her up and down.

"And you can't even see what's underneath," Lily musingly to herself.

Liam stepped over to her and took her quickly in his arms and said, "You know you can't saying teasing things like that Lily."

"Well, I think your room has a lock on it, right? Perhaps we might find ourselves there, later," Lily said seductively.

With that she slipped out of his arms and moved off and into where the party was, grabbing a drink on her way to finding Keira and Sophie.

"I love winter break!" Sophie exclaimed to Lily when she found her.

"No, I think you love alcohol," Keira teased.

"Well, alcohol is essential for a winter break party in Aspen," Sophie countered.

"No arguments from me," Lily added. "I happen to agree with Soph. I've got to say, we 09ers sure know how to throw a party."

"A couple of the guys picked up some, 'snow bunnies', shall we say, on the slopes, and they're here now. You should've seen awed looks on their faces when they walked in here," Keira said in amusement.

Melanie walked up and heard Keira's comment and said, "You should've seen their eyes bugging out at our shoes and dresses. I don't think they come from the uber wealthy families that tend to holiday here."

"Well, there are people that aren't as wealthy as us, who holiday here," Lily remarked.

"Yeah, pretty much everyone here isn't as rich as you Lily," Sophie said, very accurately.

"Look, there are two of them, over there," Melanie said, pointing at a couple of girls, who were with Josh.

"They're pretty, and you can tell they have some money, but they're not in our league," Keira stated.

"Oh, who really cares anymore?" Lily said. "I thought we were here to party?"

"Damn straight!" Mia exclaimed, joining them. "I came to see what you four were doing in this corner, all huddled together and talking. Are you coming to dance or what? Your boyfriends look a little lost without you, they only have their beers for company."

With that the girls left their corner of gossip and headed off to find their guys, then hit the dance floor.

**AN: Thanks for reading :) I'm working on planning the third instalment now, if you have any requests for it, let me know and I'll see what I can do. If you'd like to suggest baby names, feel free to do so as well :) Please review :)**


	29. Chapter 28 Just wanna be with you

**AN: Yep, it's a High School Musical song, please don't hate me! Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter, and for the chapter before, I forgot to thank the guest reviewers, so thank you! Also, less than 10 chapters to go :)**

Chapter 28 – Just wanna be with you

_Our futures coming soon, we're being pulled a hundred different directions, but whatever happens I know I've got you_

"I hate going back to school after the break," Mia moaned to Lily and Keira as she walked down the hallway with them on Monday morning.

"Especially after a week in Aspen," Keira agreed.

"I find it's worse after spring break, the weather is so perfect, and you can almost smell summer and the end of school," Lily added.

"Let's just face it, it always sucks coming back to school and getting lumped with homework and assignments," Mia concluded.

"At least we've only got a week left of cheerleading," Lily remarked.

"I'll be sad when we have our last practice, and cheer at our last game," Mia said forlornly.

"I think I'll be more sad when we actually graduate," Keira countered. "I mean, at least we've got almost three months left after cheerleading finishes. I know we all complain about school from time to time, but I'll be sad when it's all over and we're not together every day anymore."

"No, no, we don't get to be sad now," Lily stated forcefully. "We can cry buckets of tears on graduation day, if need be, but now there are other things to concentrate on. I love cheering, but I will be glad to have more free time, especially to study. There's finals, and we still need to keep our grades up, even after our college offers come in April."

"Ugh, I don't even want to think about studying and college, and the future, it's all so confusing and complicated," Mia groaned.

"We know Miss Whiny, you can complain some more later, but for now we need to get to class," Keira instructed. "See you later Lil."

Lily walked off to her own class and sat down in it, with a little sigh. She really was quite caught up in thinking about finals and college. On the advise of her guidance counsellor she'd applied for quite a number of top universities. Her dad had the funds to send her anywhere she got in, so that wasn't a problem, and she had very high grades, she was in the top five of her class. When Lily had applied for college she wasn't sure what she wanted to study, or even which university she'd prefer. She'd applied for a number in California, including Stanford (where Liam was going), so she had the option of going somewhere close to home, if she was accepted to any California schools. Her final decision would have to wait until early April when the letters came, and until then she'd just have to make sure her grades stayed up.

When Lily joined Liam at lunch he was sitting with Melanie and Michael, and it seemed they too were focused on the end of school and where they'd go to college, which wasn't unusual, it was a popular topic among the seniors as graduation crept closer.

"It's great that you're assured that scholarship to Stanford," Michael said to Liam, as Lily was sitting down. "I mean, it's not like money is an issue, but at least you know you have a spot somewhere, and Stanford is really good."

"I know, I was pretty glad when the recruiter told me they wanted me. Their football team is one of the best. It also means I won't be too far from home, I mean the flight from LA to San Francisco is barely an hour, and the drive on either end is small too," Liam said, and then kissed Lily on the lips quickly.

"Are you going to go to Stanford too Lily?" Melanie asked.

"I hope so," Liam said quickly.

Lily elbowed him in the ribs and said, "I don't know yet. I've applied there, but I've also applied for some other good schools, like Columbia, Harvard and Princetown. I've also applied for Berkeley, which is pretty close to Stanford. I have to think more about what I want, it's too confusing at the moment."

Lily followed her explanation with a little glare at Liam, who pouted sadly in return.

Melanie turned to face Michael and began talking to him, so Lily took the opportunity to say in a hushed tone to Liam, "I don't like it when you pressure me about Stanford. It's all too much for me, trying to decide where I want to go. I mean, who knows if I'll even get more than one offer?"

"I'm sorry babe," Liam said contritely. "I just really want us to be together for college. I know it's a tough decision for you, I'll try not to talk about it anymore for the moment. And as for what offers you get, I know you'll get heaps, and when it comes time for you decide, I'll be here to talk to you, about any of it, okay?"

Lily's eyes and face softened and she replied, "Thank you. I really needed to hear you say that, I don't want this next phase in life to be something that puts a strain on our relationship. I promise, right now, that wherever we got to college, it won't affect how I feel about you."

Liam pulled Lily's face to his and kissed her roughly, needing her to be close to him. The sound of someone clearing their throat returned the couple to their lunch table at Neptune High.

"Hi guys, nice of you to remember you're sitting with us, and at school," Melanie said dryly.

"Yeah, but we're glad you were having a lovely couples moment, they're so precious," Michael added cheekily. "Oh, and they're great for the rumour mill. I think I saw about eight people taking photos of you two playing tonsil hockey."

Lily had the grace to blush a little, but Liam just looked serenely at Michael and Melanie said, "Well, we can't help it if everyone envies us. A few photos is the least we can do."

Lily slapped Liam playfully at that remark, and Melanie fished a piece of carrot out of her salad and threw it at Liam. Michael just chuckled at the truth behind Liam's words.

_You're on my mind, you're in my heart, it doesn't matter where we are, it'll be alright, even if we're miles apart_

"That was really good girls!" Lily called out encouragingly to her team, on Wednesday afternoon. "Tomorrow is our last practice, then Friday is our last game for the season and the year, and for some of us, it will be our last game cheering for Neptune. I'll leave the mushy stuff until tomorrow and Friday, but for now, I just wanted to say, thanks for working hard today, and be ready to work hard tomorrow afternoon!"

Following her little speech, the cheerleaders departed the school, each going their own ways, Lily going home.

Eva's car was in the driveway when she got home, which reminded her that Eva had had a doctor's appointment, which was why she was home early. The thought stung a little, as it reminded Lily of the loss of the baby.

Lily walked inside, determined to be able to talk to Eva about her day, and her appointment, without dissolving into tears or closing up completely.

"Hi Eva!" Lily called out in her best cheerful voice. She had quite a good one, owing to years of practice on the cheerleading team.

"Hi Lily, I'm in the kitchen, working on dinner," Eva called in reply.

"I'll bring my homework in and sit at the bench with you," Lily told her.

"So, how was your day?" Eva asked, when Lily was stationed at the bench, a choc-chip cookie in her hand, her work in front of her.

"Not too bad really," Lily replied. "Cheerleading was good, classes were fine as usual. I did get a rather large quantity of homework, but apparently that's going to be the usual for the weeks leading up to May. Once we hit May, the teachers said all we'll have left to do is study and revise, but until then, it's going to be a bit crazy."

"Oh, I remember, it's kind of hard to forget those last couple of months," Eva said wryly. "But when you get to the end, it really is all worth it. It's hard to describe the feeling of graduation day, in fact, I can't. You'll understand soon enough."

"Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, how was your day? How did your doctor's appointment go?" Lily asked, in an as casually pleasant voice as possible.

"It went well, or as well as possible. The doctor said that I'm fully recovered, and she doesn't see any reason why we shouldn't be able to try again, and fairly soon. They are going to run some more tests though, just to check up on everything, to make sure there's nothing serious that caused the last two miscarriages, especially because the last one was so bad," Eva carefully explained. She wanted to be open with Lily, she and Duncan thought it would be best, to help her understand and to deal with the reality of the situation.

"Are you going to try again?" Lily asked tentatively.

"Yes, I want a baby, and I want a baby with your father. We both want you to have siblings. Miscarriages are very sad, but life goes on, and trying again is part of that," Eva replied.

"I'm glad you're going to be fine," Lily told her. "It was awful, you losing the baby, but it would've been much worse if we'd lost you too."

"Thank you sweetheart. I don't have any plans of going anywhere, anytime soon," Eva said, her voice a little choked with unshed tears.

Lily smiled a wobbly smile at her and then the doorbell rang.

"I'll go see who that is," Lily said, hopping off her chair.

Lily opened the front door to reveal Liam.

"Liam!" Lily exclaimed.

"Hey babe," Liam said, stepping inside through the open door and kissing her.

"What are you doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see you, but it's almost dinner time," Lily said.

"Well, I was doing some research, and I wanted to come over and talk to you about it," Liam answered.

"You did school work, on your afternoon off?" Lily asked, clearly impressed.

"Hell no, as if I'd do that. It's annoying that baseball practice is starting, just as cheerleading is finishing. No, this is about college. Now, don't get stressed, it's nothing pressuring, it's a good thing," Liam said quickly.

"Okay," Lily said slowly. "Don't worry, we'll have more time that before, baseball is only two afternoons a week training for you anyway. So, what do you want to tell me?"

Before he could answer, Eva called from the kitchen, "Hi Liam!"

"Hi Mrs K," he called back.

"Will you be staying for dinner?" Eva asked.

"No, thanks though. This is just a quick stop by," Liam answered.

"Well, you're welcome to, anytime," Eva stated.

"Thank you," Liam said, and then turned to face Lily. "Well, I looked up all the schools that you've applied to on the east coast, which are all, indecently, on about a 300 mile stretch. I looked into schools around there, that I can transfer to, if you decide you want to go there. I can play football pretty much anywhere, and I'll go to an east coast school if that's what it takes to be near to you. Maybe it's a bit over the top, and possibly a bit clingy, but it's what I want."

"It's really sweet of you," Lily said gently. "I love that you went to all this trouble, just in case. I don't think it's likely that I'll get into any of those schools, and if I do, I don't even know if I'd want to be that far away. I've been thinking more about college, and I think I'd like to go to Berkeley. I should get an offer from there. Stanford is still an option for me, and I have UCLA as a back up. I won't be more than an hour from you, at any of those places. Whatever happens, we'll make it work. We're already working on compromises, see?"

"I think we deserve some sort of an award," Liam said dryly.

"Yeah, we're practically grown up," Lily joked lightly.

"We're going to be fine," Liam said seriously. "As long as we have each other."

"Yeah, you're right," Lily agreed softly. "Thank you for coming over, and telling me all that, it was lovely of you."

Liam leaned in and kissed her, and Lily scooted closer and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him back eagerly. Every time they kissed it excited her the same way their first kiss, out on the beach, had. She chose to ignore the time Liam had kissed her after Homecoming, after all, she hadn't actually been a willing participant.

Lily sighed happily as Liam wound one hand through her hair and she moulded her body to his.

They both would've been quite happy to stay like that for a while, but it wasn't to be as a loud, masculine, "Ahem," interrupted them.

The broke apart quickly and Lily looked up to see Duncan.

"Daddy!" Lily exclaimed, her voice substantially higher and squeakier than normal.

"Hello Lily, Liam," Duncan said, his voice serious, but friendly enough. "Nice to see you Liam."

"Yeah, good to see you too Mr Kane," Liam eventually managed awkwardly. "I was just leaving anyway, so I'll just let myself out. See you at school tomorrow Lily."

Liam stood to leave, and Lily stood as well, placing a quick kiss to his lips, Lily was determined to show her dad that he hadn't freaked her out, she was more than entitled to kiss her boyfriend, being an adult and all. Liam however practically fled, he wasn't game to see how much Duncan actually liked him.

_All I wanna do, is be with you, be with you_

"So, today's the leap day," Sophie announced at lunch on Thursday.

"So, any weird traditions to go with that?" Mia asked. "I mean, for like, the summer solstice there are those funny things you made us do, and there's even ones for those equinox things too, after all you've told us all about them too."

"I can't help it, my mom is a nut for those calendar events," Sophie protested.

"So, is there anything weird to tell us?" Keira asked, smothering a giggle.

"Not really, Mom only mentioned that there's some tradition about women being the ones to propose on the leap day," Sophie replied.

"Thank God, no kooky stuff this year, it's not like any of us are getting married any time soon," Melanie said, relieved. Over the course of high school the 09er girls had be sucked into activities with Sophie on the spring equinox, the fall equinox, the winter solstice and the summer solstice. Activities had ranged from the girls decorating Sophie's place with holly and evergreens, rhymes rituals to do with the future and love (involving apples and roses), and they once tried standing eggs on their ends to see if they'd stay upright.

"Yeah, well the apple stem thing actually worked for you Mellie," Mia said impishly. "I distinctly remembering that it said you'd end up with someone with a last name ending with B."

"Yeah, and you were going to end up with someone with a surname ending with D," Melanie retorted. "Last time I checked, Jim's last name is Sanderford."

"Yeah, well I never said it was scientific, and you never know, maybe Jim and I will break up one day," Mia replied serenely.

"Besides, it was all just a bit of fun," Keira interjected lightly.

"I'm not really interested about today," Lily remarked. "I'm more interested about tomorrow, tomorrow is Friday, the first day of spring, the last day of the week and we'll cheer at our last game."

"I love spring, it's just that little bit better than summer because sometimes it gets too hot and muggy in summer. Spring is just right," Sophie remarked.

"I like all the seasons," Lily said cheerfully. "But for now, I'm going to leave you to weather discussion, because I'm pretty sure my boyfriend is staring at me with that, 'let's go find somewhere to make out' look."

The other girls giggled and turned to look at Liam all at once, which was not subtle in the slightest.

Liam looked at the curiously and Lily groaned and said, "Good one guys."

Lily walked off towards Liam, leaving her friends snickering.

"Hi handsome, want to go somewhere quiet?" Lily whispered suggestively in Liam's ear once she'd reached him.

"How did you know I'd been thinking just that?" Liam replied, his voice low.

"You get this look in your eyes," Lily said impishly. "That's why the girls were all laughing."

"Ah, makes sense," Liam said, unperturbed. "So, I'm thinking your car, it's at the back of the parking lot, and I drove my Porsche today."

"Sure," Lily agreed. "My keys are in my pocket."

They walked off casually through the lunch area, then out towards the parking lot.

There was nobody around, so they quickly climbed into the backseat of Lily's BMW.

Between kisses Lily panted out, "You know, usually, I'm not in favour of these school rendezvous, but today, I just couldn't resist."

"Yeah, I am pretty irresistible," Liam replied, as he placed kisses along her jaw line and down onto her neck.

"Mmm, and very modest," Lily added, nibbling lightly on his earlobe.

Liam growled a little, then pushed her firmly into the soft backseat, and kissed her roughly on the lips.

"I want you," Liam said, his voice low and throaty.

"I want you too, but not now, not here," Lily replied reluctantly.

"Lily," Liam whined.

"Liam," Lily mocked. "I love you and everything, but I'm not having sex with you in my car during lunch, tinted windows and all."

"This afternoon, after practice?" Liam suggested hopefully.

"Can't, you sex crazed boy," Lily replied impishly. "I have to get things ready for our Thursday night dinner gathering."

"Lily, can't you see what you're doing to me. You're torturing me," Liam said, a little frustrated.

Lily was now sitting on Liam's lap, and she suddenly realised that she was actually torturing him, and he had every right to be frustrated.

"I'm sorry, sometimes I forget to think about that aspect, for you," Lily said quietly.

"Yeah, I guess it'd been easy to forget about it, if you've never been a guy," Liam said dryly, sifting a little. "It's worse when you haven't had sex for ages, then you do again. I hadn't been with anyone for months and months, until you at Aspen."

"Oh," Lily said softly. "I guess I should've thought about that. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"And you do keep your promises," Liam remarked, a look of sheer pleasure crossing his face as he remembered their fooling around in the shower in back in January.

"I try," Lily said coyly. "Now, you can shut up and kiss me until the bell rings, or we can discuss, say the whether."

Liam chuckled, amused at the complex personality of her girlfriend and captured her lips with his own. Sure, he was going have to but up with a bit of pain, but it was worth it.

**AN: Thanks for reading, please review :)**


	30. Chapter 29 Good day sunshine

**AN: Sorry I'm a couple of hours late updating. My sister when all PCHer on my ass, so a had a few bad hours, right at updating time! Pretty much I'd trade her for Madison Sinclair as a sister! Anyway, enough about me.**

**Hope you enjoyed the last chapter, thanks for reviewing, and enjoy this one :)**

Chapter 29 – Good day sunshine

_Good day sunshine, I need to laugh, and when the sun is out, I've got something I can laugh about_

"Lily Kane!" Keira's cheerful voice said over the phone. "We're going shopping!"

"Keira, it's early," Lily moaned.

Keira laughed and said, "It's not early, it's almost noon, and it's a beautiful day. You hardly ever cope well after a party."

"Yeah, I only wake up if I have to, so is this shopping necessary?" Lily asked tiredly.

"Yes, it is. We're having best friend time. I'll be there in 10 minutes, so you better be dressed. We'll shove a smoothie or something down your throat, then we're shopping for spring clothes, and a dress for the spring dance," Keira informed her.

"Okay, okay, I'm up. See you in a bit," Lily replied.

Lily got sluggishly out of bed and wandered into her closet. Keira was right, she didn't enjoy the morning after a party, and the one the night before had been impressive. The party was in celebration of the last game of the basketball season, and it had been the cheerleaders last game to cheer at as well, so they'd partied pretty hard. Regardless of that, Keira seemed to be in excellent form, and was apparently determined to go shopping.

Lily pulled back her blind and stuck her head outside and said in surprise, "Oh, it is a lovely day."

She returned to her closet and replaced the jeans and shirt she'd been going to wear and pulled out a pretty sun dress. It was white with small, navy blue polka dots, sleeveless, with a cut out in out back, in the shape of a love heart.

Lily slipped her feet into a pair of silver sandals and quickly braided her hair, and went downstairs to the kitchen. Keira found her drinking a strawberry smoothie when she arrived.

"Well, you're looking a lot more cheerful than you sounded on the phone," Keira remarked.

"It's amazing what a little sun and the thought of shopping will do," Lily said airily. "I thought about what you said, then I looked outside, and decided that you were right."

"Ah, music to my ears," Keira crowed.

"Good morning Keira," Duncan said, entering the kitchen. "Or should I say, afternoon. You know, it's lucky you came over, otherwise I was considering throwing water on Lily to wake her up before dinner."

"No problem Mr Kane," Keira replied, laughing.

"Alright you two comedians," Lily said dryly. "Ready to go Keira?"

"Yep, see you Mr Kane," Keira said.

Once they were in Keira's car on the way to the mall Lily said, "So, why are we shopping for dresses so early?"

"It's not that early, the dance is in like, a month, we normally shop more in advance than we did for the Valentine's dance," Keira said.

"True, and I guess we do need new clothes for spring," Lily allowed.

"Yep, and I know for a fact all the new swimwear is in!" Keira exclaimed excitedly.

"I love new bikinis almost as much as I love new shoes," Lily said, sighing in contentment.

"Lily, you're practically addicted to clothes," Keira remarked.

"Yeah, but it's not like I buy more than I can afford, and I wear everything at least once, so it's not like I buy in excess," Lily reasoned.

Once inside the mall Lily and Keira made their way around their favourite shops, like the skilled shoppers they were, and by the time they made it to the swimwear section they were already weighed down with shopping bags.

"The new collections for spring are practically like having Christmas all over again," Lily squealed.

"I know," Keira agreed, holding up a strapless one-piece and eyeing it critically.

"I can't wait to go home and show Eva everything," Lily said with a smile. "I'm still having trouble getting her to shop with freedom, she's not used to the unlimited funds. So I show her what I've bought, instil some of my quality fashion taste, and remind her that retail therapy is good for the soul."

"Well, make sure your dad isn't around when you show her some of those party dresses you bought," Keira advised. "He was a teenage boy once, and according to my dad and older brother, they always remember how they thought we they were young and hormonal."

"Yeah, I'll definitely keep that in mind. I tend to make sure I don't dress in anything particularly revealing when Dad's around anyway," Lily replied. "I think I've got enough bikinis here, I'm going to go try them on."

After they finished shopping Keira dropped Lily home, and she practically staggered through the front door, weighed down with shopping bags.

"Eva? Are you around?" Lily called as she stepped in the front door.

"I'm in the guest room, next to your room, just doing some rearranging," Eva answered, her voice drifting down from the upper story.

"Where's Daddy?" Lily asked, as she began to ascend the stairs, her load of shopping in tow.

"Dick called a while ago, apparently there was some fiasco with the puppy and Mac was out and he need held, so your dad went over," Eva informed her.

"Great," Lily said, panting slightly, as she arrived in the doorway of the guest room. "Because I have lots of clothes to show you!"

"I can see that," Eva said with a little chuckle.

"Come on, you can come sit on my bed, and we'll go through everything," Lily suggested.

"I'll be there in a minute. I'm just going to get sustenance," Eva replied.

"Eva," Lily said, drawing out her name. "Very funny."

"I'm serious, I'm hungry, and you've got **heaps** of things there, so snacks are in order," Eva retorted.

"Fair point. Bring me an orange juice then?" Lily asked.

Eva returned shortly with an orange juice for Lily, a Diet Coke for herself, and two banana choc-chip muffins.

"You baked the muffins!" Lily exclaimed, delighted.

"Yes, I made 'the' muffins," Eva agreed. "They never last long, but it's great while they do."

Lily sighed happily as she bit into her muffin.

Eva moved to sit on the bed and as she glanced down at it, then she paused and said, "Well, I'm not sure if you bought enough clothing, there's even more here than I thought. Where am I going to sit?"

"I'll move the pillows and you can come sit up here," Lily said, waving her hands towards the head of the bed.

Eva followed Lily's instructions and was soon settled on the bed, while Lily moved around, rearranging items of clothing and rummaging in bags.

"So, I kind of bought a whole bunch of things. There's the usual stuff, like sun dresses, shorts, skirts, shirts, so I thought I'd just show you my favourite things," Lily announced.

"What ever you like," Eva said with a smile.

Lily produced her new shoes first, and followed them with her dress for the spring dance, and briefly showcased her party dresses. Eva wasn't her parent, so she was more relaxed when it came to what Lily wore, but she was still an adult who cared for her, so some of the more revealing items stayed safely in their bags.

"So, I left my favourites for last, new swimwear," Lily said, once she'd pretty much finished showing Eva everything.

"Lily, you bought four new bikinis and two one-pieces!" Eva exclaimed, astonished.

"I can't help it, I get so excited when it gets closer to summer. Plus, they're all so pretty. And besides, it's like I told you, you can never shop enough," Lily reasoned with a giggle.

Eva just shook her head indulgently and Lily held up the first bikini.

"See, I've got this bandeau one, it's floral with ruffles. And there's this yellow bandeau one, ruffles on the bottom and a bow on the top," Lily said, describing the key elements of each bikini and she held them up. "Then there's this green bandeau one, with a white bow on the top, I like the way it contrasts. Hmm, I think I went a little over the top with the bandeau ones, but there were just so many cute ones."

"Well they all are lovely, and you're only young once, so it can't hurt," Eva replied. "Plus, you will wear them all, we do live in California."

"My point exactly," Lily agreed with a grin. "Then we've got this multi-coloured print triangle bikini, only one triangle style one so far, but there's plenty of time to fix that. Then I've just got the two one pieces, the white cut-out one, and the pink strapless one."

"Well, I must say, even if I do think you buy a little too much clothing, you have excellent taste," Eva allowed. She then reached down and picked a bag off the floor and said, "I think you missed showing me what was in this one."

Lily quickly lunged forward to grab the bag, but she was too late, as Eva had already pulled out a set of lacy, black lingerie.

"Oh," Eva said quietly, and a little awkwardly.

"Oh," Lily echoed, distinctly uncomfortable and embarrassed, her cheeks flaming.

"Well, this is a little awkward, but I guess we should talk about it," Eva finally managed. "It's actually kind of good, I'd wanted to talk to you for a little while, but I didn't know how to bring it up."

Lily just looked uncomfortable and nodded her head.

"I know you're an adult now, and I know you have your Aunt Veronica, to talk with about things, like sex. I know technically I'm your step-mother, but I don't think of you like that. You're more like a little sister too me, and I love you and care about you, and I want you to be able to come to me, with anything," Eva told Lily sincerely. "You don't need to worry about me telling your father things, part of my job is to protect him, to one degree or another. Besides, your dad isn't stupid, but I think he does prefer to live in denial when it comes to your love life. So I guess, I just want you to be safe, and happy, and you can talk to me about anything."

"Thanks Eva," Lily said softly. "I love you too, and I love you even more for managing to get through that speech. We're being safe, and I am happy. I do have Aunt Veronica, but I know I also have you too. I trust you, and if I need you ever, for something like that, I know you'll be there for me."

"Well, I'm glad we got that over with," Eva said in relief.

Lily let out a nervous giggle, then Eva started to chuckle. Then they were both laughing, releasing the tension that had quickly built up only minutes before.

_I feel good in a special way, I'm in love and it's a sunny day_

"So, guess what?" Lily asked Liam over the phone.

"What?" Liam returned.

"Well, it's Sunday, and I have a whole lot of free time," Lily said playfully. "And if I remember correctly, I promised to make something up to you."

"I seem to remember something about that too," Liam replied, feigning deep thought. "And, as luck would have it, I have the house to myself. Mom and Dad are actually out on the yacht, they're making use of spring weather."

"How interesting," Lily remarking musingly. "I like that about you, you know, your parents are usually so busy, that you often have the house to yourself."

"And here I was thinking you wanted me for my body," Liam said sadly.

"Well, it does help," Lily replied generously.

"So, do you want to come over then, and help me out of my clothes, or something?" Liam asked suggestively.

"Help you out of your clothes?" Lily repeated with a giggle. "That's the best you could come up with?"

"Well, that's just the beginning, I have bigger and better plans to follow that. Or rather, I'm hoping you do, seeing as you promised to make things up to me," Liam retorted.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes, and don't worry, I have something special for you," Lily said, her voice becoming low and seductive.

"See you soon," Liam replied.

Lily echoed his sentiments the hung up. Then she flew into her closet, and pulled out a bag from the back of it. The bag was nestled behind her winter coats, and it was the exact same bag that Eva had grabbed off the floor the day before, the bag that had started their little chat.

Lily held up the black, lacy teddy and eyed it with satisfaction. She quickly pulled it on, then pulled on a pair of black shorts, and a dark purple, slight weight, three quarter sweater. It suited the weather, and it would completely conceal the fact that she was wearing sexy lingerie. This was essential, seeing as she knew Duncan and Eva were sitting downstairs together, and she'd have to say goodbye to them before she left.

After slipping her feet into a pair of cream flats, she checked her reflection critically in the mirror, and once sure that her make-up was fine, and her usual jewellery was all in place, she picked up her purse and trotted downstairs.

"Daddy, Eva, I'm just going to Liam's for a bit. We're going to watch a movie or something, and I'll be home by dinner, easily," Lily told them. She decided it would be best to have a casual cover story, saying "I'm off to have hot sex with my boyfriend," is never a good idea. With that thought, she reminded herself to actually put a movie on at some point, so her cover story wouldn't be a total lie.

"Okay sweetheart," Duncan replied.

"Do you want to bring Liam over for dinner?" Eva asked.

"Thanks Eva, but I won't today. I should actually get some study in after dinner," Lily answered.

She turned and walked out of the room, then stopped and gave them a little wave and said, "Bye!"

Lily walked cheerfully out to her car, and got in, thinking gleefully about her plans for the afternoon.

When she arrived at Liam's she walked to the door, purse in hand and a broad smile on her face.

She door swung open before she could even think about knocking, and there stood Liam, looking very eager.

His face fell slightly after he took in Lily's appearance.

"What?" Lily asked, puzzled.

"Oh, I just thought you might be in one of those long coats, you know the ones you wear when you have something sexy underneath," Liam explained.

"You idiot jackass," Lily replied, slightly amused. "There is something sexy underneath, but my dad and Eva are home, so leaving the house in a trench coat on a warm spring day would be a bit stupid!"

"Oh," Liam mumbled lamely. "Sorry."

"Yeah, sorry is right," Lily retorted. "Now, if you want to see what's underneath you better be nice."

"If I'm not, will you punish me?" Liam asked hopefully.

"You're incorrigible!" Lily exclaimed.

Liam pulled her close to him, and leant down, so that his lips were merely a couple of inches from hers and said, "Yeah, but you love me."

Lily smiled and stared into his bright blue eyes, then nodded. Liam then closed the gap between their lips and kissed her, softly and gently at first, almost lazily.

Before things could become anymore heated Lily pulled away and said, "Come on, let's go upstairs, and I'll give you your surprise."

"Or we could just stay down here and you can give me my surprise. The maid isn't even here," Liam said, leaning down and kissing her neck.

"Or we could go upstairs, where there's no chance of anyone interrupting us, and christen your bed," Lily countered.

Deciding to take matters into her own hands, Lily manoeuvred herself out of Liam's arms and flitted up the stairs. There was no way she was chancing Liam's parents coming home early and catching them en flagrante.

Liam followed Lily quickly up the stairs, happy enough to take part in her impromptu little game of 'foreplay chase'.

Liam reached the top of the stairs just in time to see Lily disappear into his bathroom and lock the door.

"Not fun Lil," Liam whined.

"Wait on the bed, and it might be," Lily replied coyly.

Liam flopped down onto the bed, trying to decide whether or not to take his pants and shirt off. He decided against it, on account of the fact that he particularly enjoyed having Lily removed them. He suddenly remember protection and reached into his drawer and procured a small foil packet. He debated getting a second one out, but figured it would just be tempting fate. He could get another if the need be, and he certainly hoped the need arose.

Liam then heard a clicking noise and turned to see Lily appear from the bathroom, clad in only the teddy that she'd dressed in before leaving home.

"Present time," she said seductively.

Liam moved swiftly off the bed and toward Lily, grabbing her and pressing her up against the nearest wall and kissing her fiercely.

"So, I'm guessing it meets with your approval?" Lily panted out.

"Very much so," Liam replied, a low growl escaping him.

Lily then removed his shirt and pants quickly, and they soon fell onto the bed together, limbs entangled, still kissing heatedly.

"God, I love you," Liam moaned as their kisses became even more feverish.

"Love, you too," Lily managed to say, her whole body on fire.

The continued in that fashion for quite some time, both thoroughly enjoying their afternoon.

_Good day sunshine, we take a walk, the sun is shining down, burns my feet as they touch the ground_

The final bell rang at the end of the day on Monday, signalling the end of the school day at Neptune High.

Mia, Lily and Sophie walked out of the school together, all looking a little dazed.

"It feels a little weird to be leaving school with everyone else," Sophie remarked.

"Weird, but good," Lily added. "I mean, I love cheering, and it was also heaps of fun being your captain this year, but it was also quite a bit of pressure. It's nice to know I don't have to go home and plan routines, or spend hours practicing after school."

"Yeah, all we have now is hours of homework and assignments," Mia grumbled. "And we don't even have the excuse of cheering for not doing it."

"And that hardly ever worked," Sophie said with chagrin.

"Being pretty and rich has worked more often than that," Lily said. "And that hardly ever works either, the teachers here are used to the ways of 09ers."

"Like you've ever used any of those tactics Lily Kane," Mia accused.

"Well, no, but you know what I mean. I've seen you use them Mia," Lily returned.

"Yeah, well what's the point of having super model genes and not using them to your advantage?" Mia asked with a giggle.

Lily just laughed, then said, "Well, I'm going to go home, maybe go see Aunt Ronica, to celebrate no more afternoons filled with cheer practice. See you girls tomorrow."

Lily went home, let herself inside to find an empty house, as she'd expected. Eva had gone back to working more hours, and Duncan was still at the office as usual.

Lily went upstairs, dropped her things in her room, then paused in front of her mirror, trying to decide weather or not to change out of the navy blue skirt and off white shirt she'd worn to school.

She quickly decided to exchange the skirt for a pair of blue, high waisted, scallop edge shorts. If she was going to the Echolls', it would be best to be wearing something that would be easy to move around in, for playing with Aubrey.

She pulled a light, red jacket off a hanger, for when the weather would become cooler in the evening.

She kicked off the flats she'd been wearing and slipped her feet into a pair of white sandals.

Back in her room she grabbed her purse, then paused to look once again to look in the mirror and let out a small giggle.

"Why, I look like the fourth of July!" Lily giggled to herself. She had only just realised that choosing a red jacket to go with the rest of her outfit made her look extremely patriotic.

"Well, I could swap it for a white or cream jacket, but then I'll pretty much look like a sailor," Lily mused aloud to herself.

Lily suddenly remembered her new peach coloured jacket, turned and retrieved it from her closet. She checked one last time in the mirror, was completely satisfied, and happily skipped down the stairs and out the front door.

Outside, looking up at the afternoon sun, Lily debated walking to the Echolls', it would take about fifteen minutes, and the day was beautiful.

She tossed aside the idea quickly, she'd drive, so she could spend more time over there and get home quickly. She, Veronica and Aubrey could go for a walk instead.

Lily arrived at the Echolls', walked to the door and let herself in. She'd had a key to their house for quite some time, even since before she'd stayed with them the summer before, while her dad and Eva were on their honeymoon.

"Logan, is that you?" Veronica asked with surprise, her voice floating from somewhere in the back of the house.

"No, it's me Aunt Veronica," Lily answered.

"Oh, hi Lily. I thought it was strange that Logan would be back so soon. I'm out on the deck," Veronica replied.

"Coming," Lily called. "Where is Uncle Logan?" Lily asked when she reached Veronica.

"He went up to L.A. today. He doesn't often have to, being able to write from home, but he had to see his publisher, so it was just Aubrey and me today," Veronica informed her.

"Well that'd be nice, a girls day," Lily remarked.

"Yeah, a girls day, with one rambunctious puppy," Veronica said dryly. "Plus, Aubrey's been asleep since about two."

"So, you've have some time to yourself, that's good," Lily said.

"Strange, but good. Aubrey should be awake any time soon," Veronica told her. "You can go get her if she'd not up in ten minutes."

"I was hoping you'd say that!" Lily exclaimed.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company today?" Veronica asked playfully.

"It's the first day after cheer practice ended, and it's such a lovely day, so I thought I'd spend it with you and Aubrey," Lily answered.

"So, I'm guessing Liam is busy?" Veronica teased.

"Well, he is, but I don't spend all my time with him," Lily replied.

"I don't know, I seem to remember you spending a very large amount of your time with him in Aspen," Veronica retorted lightly.

"Fair point," Lily agreed with a giggle. "But we really aren't joined at the hip."

"How are things with you two?" Veronica asked, watching Lily's face carefully. She could read Lily very well, her face was expressive, and Veronica was highly trained in reading people anyway.

A broad smile graced Lily's face, and her eyes almost glowed with happiness, and Veronica knew what her answer would be before she gave it.

"Wonderful now. I mean, we've had our rough spots, everyone does. But when I think of the way we were, at the beginning of this year, it amazes me, how far we've come. I use to loathe him, but now, I can't imagine life without him," Lily answered softly.

"Ah, young love," Veronica teased gently.

"Aunt Veronica," Lily said imploring, "don't make fun of me."

"I'm sorry sweetie, I just wasn't thinking and was being silly," Veronica replied, a little contrite. She forgot from time to time that Lily wasn't her Lilly, the best friend of her youth, and she wasn't Mac. She wasn't like Veronica, or her friends in every way. Sure, she shared some of their traits, but she was softer, more like Meg at times, and that was something to be valued. Tragedy had marked Lily at a very young age, but somehow she'd grown up without it marring her too much.

"And I was just being stupid too," Lily added. "I know you didn't mean anything by it. I guess I just want Liam and my relationship to be taken seriously. My friends at school would never tell me if they didn't approve, or thought we were doomed, it's not their way. But I guess I always count on what you think."

"I'm glad you do, and I want you to," Veronica said seriously. "Do you want to tell me what you meant about people not taking you seriously?"

"I guess what I meant was," Lily began slowly. "Well, up until, like four months ago, Liam and I weren't even friends, and now we're a couple, and I love him, and I want it to work with him. But maybe people just see us as young and stupid, and just having fun until school ends and college starts. So much change comes with school ending. It's just hard to put into words, and it sounds a bit simplistic."

"I understand what you mean, but you just need to worry about what everyone else will be thinking," Veronica told her. "Most of it is just your mind working overtime, worrying. If your happy, then nothing else should really matter. Things have a way of working themselves out. I wish I'd learned that earlier on. I spent so much time trying to make things go my way, but in the end life just does what it wants, and it usually has a better way of achieving what we want, than we did."

"Thanks Aunt Ronica. I guess I know knew that, deep down, but I needed to hear you say it," Lily said. "I can hear Aubrey squawking. How about I go get her, and we can take her for a walk?"

"Sounds good, I'll get Danny and her stroller and meet you out the front," Veronica answered, as Lily departed for the indoors.

**AN: I've had a rubbish day, so reviews would put a big smile on my face! Thanks for reading :)**


	31. Chapter 30 Glory Days

**AN: There is a bit of religious stuff late in the chapter, I'm sorry if anyone finds it dry or boring, but I thought it was important to mention it, Lily is the daughter of Saint Meg Manning after all. I am by no means trying to make an religious influence with it.**

**Also, don't know if this will affect anyone, but I deleted the Author's Note, that used to be Chapter 26, so it's mucked up where the reviews are from Chapter 26 to Chapter 29/30. I don't think it should be a problem, only for me when I'm trying to work out which reviews are for which chapter...anyway!**

**Other than that, thanks for your reviews last chapter, Ali-cat and Angel, it's much appreciated!**

Chapter 30 – Glory days

_I had a friend, was a big baseball player, back in high school, he could throw that speedball by you, make you look like a fool boy_

Late afternoon sun's rays streamed onto the deck the Kane's home. The sun was warm, but a gentle breeze limited the warmth that could be gained from the sun.

Instead Lily was sitting in Liam's lap, his arms were wrapped around her and she gained warmth from him.

"You know, when I told you to come over after baseball practice to work on trig I meant it," Lily said laughingly.

"Yeah, well the books are out, and we have looked at it a bit," Liam replied, unconcerned. "Personally, I'd much rather sit here with you in my arms, it's much better for my state of mind."

"Do you a deal, I'll sit on your lap, and we'll go through the stuff together," Lily suggested.

"Okay, and for every answer I get right, I get a kiss," Liam bargained.

Lily giggled and said, "I wish I'd thought of that, it's actually a great idea. You'll be top of the class before I know it."

They sat there for a while, Lily explaining the topic simply, then Liam started doing the homework. Lily would check his working as he went, then she'd give him a gentle kiss, which he always tried to deepen.

Lily pulled out of another long kiss and Liam whined, "Lily, I'm done and I got seven out of ten, don't I get a reward? It's some kind of record for me."

Lily smiled and gave him another kiss, just a swift peck to his lips.

"There you go, that's a bonus for finishing," Lily said impishly. "Your real reward will be passing the class and keeping your scholarship!"

"Gee, thanks," Liam grumbled.

"Cheer up, and you can stay for dinner," Lily offered.

"Will your dad and Eva be here?" Liam asked, hope tinging his voice.

"They will," Lily replied, giggling as his face fell. "Just be glad it's the off week for Thursday dinners, or we wouldn't be having the study session now."

"Do you want me to stay for dinner?" Liam asked.

"Of course, I like having you around, no matter what we're doing," Lily replied.

"Okay, I'll stay. Are you coming to the game tomorrow?" Liam asked.

"Of course, it's the last one before spring break, isn't it?" Lily returned.

"Yep, there's no game next Friday, on account of it being Good Friday," Liam answered.

"And you're going away and leaving me for all of spring break," Lily wailed melodramatically.

"Well, I'll actually still be here for Easter," Liam countered. "I'm sorry I'll be away, but Mom and Dad decided that we should go away together, like a last school break holiday as a family. We'll have the whole summer together."

"I guess that's true," Lily agreed, making an effort to brighten up a bit.

"And, I'll leave you with a whole lot of Easter chocolate to lessen the pain of my absence," Liam said comically.

"You better! You'd better give me a gym membership to go with it as well, or I'll look like a whale at the spring dance," Lily stated jokingly.

"You could never look like a whale, and if you did, you'd still be beautiful to me," Liam said lovingly.

Suddenly, an image of herself pregnant popped into Lily's mind, unbidden, and the mentally shook herself and removed it quickly. Sure, she wanted to be a mother one day, but graduating school and college came first.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, you know," Lily said seductively. "I'd say we've got about fifteen minutes until Daddy and Eva are home."

Lily leaned down to kiss him, but he pulled away and said, "Let's go to your room."

Lily chuckled, remembering how she had been the one to want to go to a bedroom, and not fool around in a public living area. Apparently Liam did not want to risk anything, not with Duncan potentially arriving home.

Lily stood up, and Liam followed her, quickly scooping her into his arms and carrying her into the house and up the stairs, kissing her most of the way.

When Friday afternoon came it found Keira, Melanie and Lily sitting in the stands together, waiting for the baseball game to start. They were all there to watch their boyfriends play. Ethan, Michael and Liam all played baseball as a secondary sport to football. They used it to keep fit and for a bit of fun. Other 09ers on the team were Liam's best friend, Josh, and Harry. Harry was the captain of the baseball team, and had been for the last two years. Liam had no interest in being captain, he was content with just playing for a bit of fun.

"You know, I've never watched Liam play before," Lily remarked.

"He's been playing for years now, and we've been to games before," Melanie said, curious.

"Yeah, well I use to watch Harry play, but back then, I only saw Harry. Then Scott didn't use to play, so we hardly went to games, and anyway, I loathed and despised Liam's very existence.

"Lucky Liam's not the pitcher then," Keira remarked dryly. "You wouldn't have watched much of the game."

"I like watching him on first base, he's got great reflexes and he throws the ball well, or so I'm told," Lily said with a giggle. "He can actually pitch pretty well thought, you know? Apparently he's the reserve pitcher."

"Figures," Melanie said with a snort. "I mean, what can't he do?"

"Lily! Mellie, Keira!" Sophie's voice called at them, interrupting their assessment of Liam.

Sophie, Chris, Mia and Jim were all sitting a little way off from them and the girls waved back at them.

The girls turned back towards the diamond just in time to see the Neptune team take to the field. Liam jogged out to his position of first base, Josh ran out into the outfield, Harry moved across to shortstop and Ethan went to second base.

The pitcher, Dylan Moore, an 09er in the junior year, moved onto the pitcher's mound and began throwing warm up pitches to the catcher, Connor Duffy. The rest of the team, took their positions, then soon enough, the oppositions first player came out to bat.

Neptune had a good team, so they won easily. Liam played well, getting quite a few people out, and he hit a triple.

Lily greeted Liam after the game with a kiss and said, "You were amazing!"

"You say that like you didn't already know it," Liam replied, pretending to be hurt.

"Well, I didn't know that you were that good at baseball. Of course I know all the other things you're amazing at," Lily said flirtatiously.

"Feel free to list those," Liam said cheekily.

Lily leaned closer to him and whispered something in his ear.

In response Liam exclaimed, "Let's get out of here, now!"

_Well there's a girl that lives up the block, back in school she could turn all the boy's heads_

On Sunday morning Lily awoke to Duncan gently shaking her shoulder.

"Lily, Lily, wake up," he said softly.

Lily sleepily opened her eyes a crack and mumbled, "What's going on Daddy?"

"Nothing bad, don't worry," Duncan reassured her. "I'm leaving this afternoon on busy, and Eva is going to come with me, so I wanted to see you for a while before we left."

The news of her father's impending departure hurried Lily's waking progress along impressively.

She sat up, suddenly quite awake and said, "Where are you going?"

"I need to go to New York, we'll be back by Easter though," Duncan answered her.

"Oh, that's not too bad then," Lily replied.

"Well I do try not to have too many trips, especially long ones," Duncan told her.

"I know Daddy, and it's lovely of you. What are we going to do for breakfast?" Lily asked, her mind moving onto the next important matter – food.

"Eva's down in the kitchen, making pancakes and smoothies, your favourite," Duncan informed her with a smile.

Lily sighed happily and said, "Yummy! I'll be downstairs in a minute."

Duncan rose and walked towards her door. When he reached it he turned and said, "Oh, just as a by the way, you're going to go and stay with Veronica and Logan while we're gone."

"But, Daddy, I'm eighteen!" Lily exclaimed.

"I know, and I trust you, but I'd rather be on the safe side and have you with Logan and Veronica. Besides, you'll have a lovely time there," Duncan told her cheerfully.

Lily watched her father leave her room and listened to his cheerful whistle as he descended the stairs. He'd won, and they both knew it. He didn't want her home alone for nearly a whole week because of Liam, but who could blame him really. Lily was rational enough to know that no father in his right mind leaves his baby girl alone for days on end when her boyfriend could come over whenever he wanted.

Lily was a little irked at the way the 'home alone' issue had played, but she didn't have the heart to be mad with her dad, not when he was about to go away. Plus, he was right, she would have fun at the Echolls', and she could still see Liam while she was staying there.

Resigned to her fate, and beginning to look forward to her stay with the Echolls, Lily went downstairs for breakfast.

The next several days passed, Sunday afternoon Lily got her things together and drove over to the Echolls', while Duncan and Eva headed for the airport. Monday at school passed without incident and Tuesday afternoon found Lily and Liam walking down the hall together, heading out to the parking lot to leave school at the end of the day.

"So," Lily began casually, "I happen to know for a fact that Aunt Veronica went into her office today and won't be home until dinner, and Uncle Logan was taking Aubrey with him to the Casablancas' this afternoon."

"Oh really?" Liam asked interestedly, his eyes darkening with anticipation.

"Yeah, so the house should be nice and quiet if you wanted to come over and we could work on some homework," Lily offered innocently, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Sure, you know I always like spending the afternoon with you, but I have a better idea of what we could do with our time," Liam countered playfully.

"I guess you can explain more, when we get there," Lily said generously.

Back at the Echolls', Liam led Lily upstairs and into the guest bedroom that she always used when she stayed over.

He leant down and kissed her, intent on 'showing' her his other plans.

"See, isn't this a much better idea?" Liam asked rhetorically.

"Much," Lily replied with a giggle.

They continued to kiss, their hands running everywhere and a little while later Lily was topless and Liam was only in his briefs.

It was at this point that they both heard the front door bang closed.

They both froze and Liam said in a low voice, "Do you think they know we're here?"

"No, we left my car at school remember? And your car is a little way down the street and the won't know we're here," Lily answered.

"Who is 'they', for that matter?" Liam asked, his voice still low.

They both had got off the bed and were quietly scrabbling around for their clothes. Liam threw Lily's shirt and bra at her and she kicked his pants across the floor to him.

Once she was dressed Lily walked silently to Liam's side and whispered in his ear, "Come on, let's sneak out and find out who is here. Then we can work out how to play this."

Liam and Lily crept about halfway down the stairs and perched on a step together, as they heard Dick's voice.

"I can't believe Mackie would say that," Dick whined.

"She's just grumpy and hormonal," Logan comforted him. "She's due any week now."

"Yeah," Dick agreed forlornly, "but still."

"I know," Logan agreed with a sigh. "She didn't have to bring up our high school ways and how the girls were going to date guys just like us."

"Sit there Caroline," Dick instructed his daughter.

"Aubrey you're staying in your bouncer, we're going to have a little talk," Logan added.

Lily stifled a giggle and looked at Liam with dancing eyes.

"Come on," she whispered in his ear. "They won't be able to see us from the lounge room, so we can move to the bottom of the stairs, to hear better."

They crept down to the bottom of the stairs to listen to what Dick and Logan had to say.

"Okay Caroline, according to your mom, you're going to end up dating a guy like me in high school," Dick began. "But that's not going to happen, okay? In fact, you're not going to date anyone, until you're at least 30, and even then I get to pick them, after Ronnie has run at least one background check on them."

"The same goes for you Aubrey," Logan added. "We're not being unfair, you'll see in the end. See, the things is, we know all about guys, because they're all like us, and we were the very worst sort of guys."

"Guys will say anything to get what they want, and what they want is sex," Dick said firmly.

"Don't say that s-e-x in front of them!" Logan exclaimed.

"What, dude? They can't understand yet," Dick protested.

"I don't care," Logan said stubbornly. "They're not going to know what s-e-x is for at least, twenty years."

Liam rolled his eyes at this and Lily had to work very had to cover a loud snort.

"Man, you're right. I'm a fu-, ah I'm an idiot," Dick said in disgust.

"Yeah, you are, but this lecture isn't for you, it's for the girls, so let's get back to it," Logan she determinedly.

"Right. Caroline, are you still listening to me?" Dick asked, noticing his daughter's attention on the doll she was holding.

"No," Caroline said with a delighted gurgle. "Dolly!"

"Just listen to me for a little longer then you can play with dolly," Dick instructed.

Caroline nodded adorably, so Dick didn't have the heart to take the doll from her.

Aubrey was sitting next to her, smiling and kicking her legs, completely oblivious to the lecture that she and Caroline were being given. The lecture wasn't for the nine month old and twenty-one month old, it was for their fathers.

"Girls, it's very important that you know that all teenage boys are liars, they will say anything to get what they want," Logan said seriously. "They'll tell you that you're beautiful, which of course you are, but we're the only guys who are allowed to tell you that."

"And they might ask for just one kiss, but guys never want just one kiss, we always want more," Dick added.

"Then there's the matter of clothing," Logan said suddenly, as if he'd just remembered that little detail.

"Yeah, nothing short or tight!" Dick exclaimed. "We all have very good imaginations, so nothing revealing."

"No short dresses, no bikinis, no low cut tops," Logan listed. "And, definitely **nothing** tight."

"Hey, Aubrey's asleep!" Dick exclaimed.

"Yeah, well Caroline's been pulled that dolls hair for the last few minutes," Logan retorted.

"Fine, we'll just have to give them the lecture again," Dick said in resignation.

"Good idea. Say, once every year, until they're eighteen?" Logan suggested.

"Damn straight. That's not swearing, right? Mackie's really strict on what I say in front of Carrie," Dick said thoughtfully. "Man, we're the best dads."

Logan looked adoringly at his sleeping daughter and chuckled, then sighed. He wanted to be a good father, and he tried his absolute best, but he didn't have much to go off when it came to fatherly role models.

"Come on, I'll put Aubrey to bed, and you can put a cartoon on for Caroline. Then we can make dinner for Veronica and Mac. It should put her in a better mood for you," Logan instructed Dick.

"Good idea!" Dick exclaimed, pleased with the plan.

On the stairs Lily heard their plans and stood quietly and pulled Liam up the stairs quickly, making an effort to be silent.

They reached her room and Lily pointed to the open closet and they both hopped inside.

"I wonder if we'll end up in Narnia?" Liam whispered to her.

"Idiot!" Lily whispered back. "Okay, so I think we should be able to slip out of the house unnoticed when they go into the kitchen. Trust me, there will be more than enough in there for them to concentrate on!"

"Okay," Liam agreed. "Hey, Lil, were they actually serious?"

"Very much so," Lily answered, shaking with silent laugher.

Liam just shook his head in amazement, and hoped fervently that he'd still be around when the girls made it to high school.

_Glory days well they'll pass you by, glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye, glory days, glory days_

The Kanes weren't overly religious, but in memory of Meg and out of respect to what she believed, Duncan and Lily had always celebrated the main events on the Christian calendar the way Meg would have. When Eva joined their family she was happy to join in with their traditions, she had grown up in a Christian family, not an overly Christian one, but Christian nonetheless.

Therefore, they went to Church on Easter and read the Christmas story on Christmas. Duncan knew what Meg would've wanted for their daughter, Meg had hated the fanatical religious ways of her parents, but held the normal Christian ways and customs in high regard. She had had a particular liking for Easter, and had enjoyed the Passover meal and what it had stood for. So every year, on the Thursday before Good Friday, Duncan had made an effort to give Lily some form of the Passover meal, wherever they were.

When they moved back to Neptune he invited the Echolls, Casablancas and Fennels to celebrate it with them. None of them were particularly religious, but they joined in as well, and it became a sort of extension of their regular bi-weekly dinners, but with more of a focus on the friendship they all shared, and being thankful that they were all in each other's lives. Duncan had long ago researched the meaning of the Passover, and the traditional way to celebrate it, so they always ate roast lamb, with flat bread and tabouleh. Their religious interpretation of the event went no further than that, apart from reading the bible story that pertained to the Passover.

Lily enjoyed the occasion, it was something that made her feel closer to her mother, and she enjoyed spending time with the people she loved. The promise of chocolate on Easter Sunday was a particularly good bonus as well.

When Lily arrived home from school on Thursday she found her dad and Eva had arrived home just in front of her.

"Daddy, Eva!" Lily exclaimed, hugging and kissing them both.

"Hi sweetheart," Duncan returned, as he kissed her cheek. "I told you we'd be back by tonight."

"You did," Lily agreed. "I thought you would be, seeing as tonight is important."

"Of course," Duncan affirmed. "Nearly everything is ready, I had someone come in and take care of everything, seeing as we were away and you had school. So there's not much to do until the others arrive."

Eva then elbowed Duncan in the side and he looked at her curiously.

It quickly dawned on him and he said, "Oh, right, of course. Eva and I wanted to ask you if you wanted to invite Liam to come for dinner tonight, with everyone else?"

Lily's face lit up with a smile and she nodded enthusiastically. "Thank you Daddy! You're the best!"

She then hugged Eva again and whispered in her ear, "I think that was your doing, so thank you."

Lily flew upstairs on the winged feet of those who are truly happy and flopped down on her bed with her cell phone in her hand.

She dialled Liam's familiar number and waited for him to pick up.

"Hey babe," he greeted her. "Missed me already?"

"No, I'm only ringing to issue you an invite," Lily replied saucily. "You know that dinner I mentioned we're having tonight? If you're not busy, do you want to come?"

"Sure," Liam agreed easily. He'd always been curious as to the traditions of Lily's family that she's mentioned from time to time in passing. "Do I need to bring anything special?"

"Nope, just yourself," Lily answered cheerfully.

"I'm not special?" Liam asked, feigning hurt.

"Oh you're special, so special that little men in white coats are calling your name," Lily said dryly.

"Just for that, you're not getting your Easter chocolate," Liam threatened playfully.

"I thought it was only Christmas where they took away your presents if you're bad?" Lily asked thoughtfully.

"Well, I'm giving the present, so I make the rules," Liam replied.

Lily laughed and said, "Well, I'll see you, at say five? I forgot all my stuff and left it in my car, so I've got to go and bring it in now."

"Sounds good, I love you," Liam said.

"Love you too," Lily said softly, then hung up the phone.

Lily went downstairs and out to her car, grabbed her bags, and deposited her things in her room.

Just as Lily had changed out of her school clothes and into a cream dress, paired with her peach jacket, the door bell rang. She dashed out of her room and when she reached the top of the stairs, yelled, "I'll get it!"

Duncan chuckled at her enthusiasm and called back, "Okay!"

Lily raced down the stairs, somewhat inelegantly, especially compared to the rather dainty dress she was wearing.

She opened the front door exuberantly to reveal a very pregnant Mac, and Dick carrying a squirming Caroline.

"Want down Daddy," Caroline demanded, as they stood in the doorway.

"When we get inside princess," Dick told her.

"Hi Lily," Mac greeted her.

Lily giggled and said, "Hi guys, I think Daddy and Eva are out the back, if you want to go through."

Dick and Caroline stepped inside first, and once she was set down, Caroline toddled off as fast as she could, with Dick in her wake.

Mac walked inside, and continued on at a much slower pace, and Lily walked with her.

"Calling her princess…it's no wonder she wants everything," Mac huffed.

"I think he's sweet, and she's a darling," Lily defended them gently.

"Oh you're right, I'm sorry, it's just been one of those days, or weeks really, and I just feel enormous and gross," Mac said tiredly.

"Don't worry about it, and you don't need to worry about doing anything tonight, the foods done, and I'll keep an eye on Caroline," Lily offered.

"Thanks Lily, that'd be wonderful. Keep an eye on Dick too, would you?" Mac said, half-seriously.

"Sure," Lily said, laughing, "right after I answer the door."

The doorbell had rung again, so Lily turned and retraced her steps, back to the front door.

"Uncle Wallace, Aunt Amanda!" Lily greeted them cheerfully. "And Justin, look at you, you're getting so big!"

Justin was holding his mom's hand, but let go of it to toddle towards Lily, who picked him up and swung him into her arms, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Justin let out a loud laugh, then squirmed, so Lily set him down on the floor.

Amanda and Wallace had stepped inside and both followed their son towards the noise coming from out the back.

"I'll be there in a moment," Lily told them, noticing Liam's car pull up across the street.

"Okay," Wallace replied. "You don't want us to wait so we can meet Liam?"

"Don't tease Wallace, we know when we're not wanted," Amanda said with a chuckle. "We'll see you both soon."

Lily smiled vacantly at her, too focused on watching Liam walk across the road and up to the front door.

He jogged up the front steps, then picked her up and kissed her soundly.

"I missed you," Liam said quietly.

"I only saw you a few hours ago," Lily said with a giggle. "But I missed you too."

"Good," Liam replied, satisfied. "Oh hey, I have something for you in my car. I almost forgot about it. Come on, we'll go get it."

Liam took her hand and they quickly crossed the road together in the late afternoon sun.

"Here you go," Liam said, presenting Lily with an enormous chocolate bunny.

"It's enormous!" Lily exclaimed. "It must weigh ten pounds."

"It does," Liam told her, extremely pleased with himself.

"You idiot! And chocolate is normally given on Easter Sunday," Lily told him.

"I know, but I figured I'd give you chocolate every day until then, to make up for going away for spring break," Liam told her casually.

"It's very sweet, but I have no idea how I'm going to finish any of it," Lily said with a giggle.

"Finals will be here soon enough, you'll manage," Liam said knowingly.

"And I'll help," Veronica offered generously.

Lily whipped around at the sound of her voice, she hadn't noticed the Echolls pull up a little way down from them.

"Aunt Ronica, I haven't seen you since, oh, this morning," Lily said laughingly.

"What about me?" Logan asked demandingly, holding Aubrey in his arms standing just behind Veronica.

"You weren't up, so I haven't seen you since last night," Lily replied pertly. "I'll trade you the ten pound bunny for the baby?"

"Can I eat the bunny?" Logan asked hopefully.

"Can I eat Aubrey?" Lily retorted.

"No," Logan answered sadly, knowing what her answer was as well.

"Well the same goes for you," Lily replied sweetly.

Liam stood by watching the change with amusement, as did Veronica.

The five of them walked across the road and into the house together, and found everyone out the back, talking animatedly.

Lily sat down with Aubrey on her lap, and Liam on one side, and surveyed the group of people around her, and decided that in the moment, life was pretty good.

**AN: Thanks for reading, please review :)**


	32. Chapter 31 Missing you

**AN: Sorry, a few hours late posting again, I got held up at the gym then with dinner!**

**Thanks so much for the response to the last chapter :) Thank you, Angel, Ali-Cat, Guest and Nichole. Thanks especially to Angel and Ali-cat, I was inspired by your reviews to include the dinner :)**

Chapter 31 – Missing you

_I can't stand another night, stand another night without you_

On the Tuesday afternoon of Spring Break, the front doorbell rang at the Kane home.

Lily walked dolefully to the door, expecting a salesman or something, she had no plans with her friends for the day. She was too busy sulking, Spring Break without Liam was not agreeing with her, and he'd only been gone for one day.

Lily opened the door to reveal Mia and Sophie.

"Hi Lily," they chorused cheerfully.

"Oh, hello," Lily returned unenthusiastically.

"Uh, Lily, it's us, your friends? We only get a 'oh, hello'?" Mia asked incredulously.

"Sorry, come on in," Lily offered.

The girls followed her inside to the living room where she'd been watching TV, and judging from the chocolate wrappers, had been devouring her Easter chocolate.

"Hungry were you Lily?" Sophie asked with a giggle.

Lily blushed, she'd forgotten the mess she'd left from her comfort eating.

"Oh, just bored," Lily answered vaguely.

"Yes, well that's why we're here. We hadn't heard from you for a few days, and we know Liam's away, so it's not like you're spending time with him, so we decided that we're going to do something together," Mia explained.

"Okay," Lily said slowly. "So, judging from the lack of bikinis, we're not going to the beach."

"Very good deduction," Sophie said cheerfully. "But that's not a bad idea. We can go to the beach later in the week, or for the rest of the week. Actually, for the rest of the week sounds good, my tan needs some serious work."

"Thanks Soph, but on with the point," Mia interrupted. "We're going shopping, and we're meeting Melanie and Keira at the mall, okay? So you might want to put something more appropriate on."

Lily looked down at her running shorts and loose sweat shirt, and realised Mia was right.

"I'll be right back," she promised her friends, and moved quickly off towards the stairs.

"You might want to wipe the chocolate of your mouth too!" Sophie called to Lily's retreating back.

Upstairs Lily looked in the mirror, and found that she did indeed have a little bit of chocolate on the corner of her mouth, and hastily wiped it away. She then quickly stripped off her clothes, dove into her closet, and found a light pink dress to wear. Her friends were also wearing light sun dresses, the weather was very nice, and dresses were most practical for a shopping trip.

Lily reappeared down stairs less than ten minutes later and announced, "Okay, I'm ready!"

"Look at you, all pretty and clean," Mia teased.

"Yes, you're both such comedians, let's go," Lily replied, vaguely amused.

"I'm driving," Sophie said cheerfully, as they walked towards her car.

"Makes sense, seeing as that is your car," Lily pointed out dryly.

"Shut up," Sophie retorted.

Once in the car, "So, what is the purpose of this shopping trip? Spring dance, new bikinis, fuelling our shopping addiction, is it a cheer up mission?" Lily asked.

"It's Spring Break, we're girls with credit cards, so we shop," Mia answered, her tone implying that her answer was totally obvious.

"But we are looking for prom dresses today," Sophie added.

"But we haven't even had the Spring Dance yet," Lily said, bemused.

"Yeah, but we have dresses for that already, because it's like, in a week or something," Sophie countered. "And there's like a month until prom, so we need to start looking for dresses now."

"And Keira happened to mention that there's a new Alexander McQueen line out, she thought it might entice you to come out, if you were particularly mopey," Mia added.

"Hey, I'm not mopey! You guys were talking about me being mopey?" Lily questioned indignantly.

Mia and Sophie both hooted with laughter, then Mia said, still chortling, "Oh please, we all know you well, and Keira knows you the best. She predicted that you'd be in casual clothes, eating some sort of candy or ice-cream. Any what were you doing?"

"Eating chocolate and wearing shorts and a sweater," Sophie supplied helpfully.

"Yes, thank you Sophie," Mia said dryly.

"Fine, yes, I was mopey. But I'm not now, it wasn't a really sulk, I was just having a pity party because my boyfriend is gone for Spring Break!" Lily said, defending herself.

"Yes, yes, very good," Mia said airily. "We're here! Come on, shopping time."

"Lily!" Keira exclaimed cheerfully, when the girls met up a short time later.

"Hi Keira," Lily greeted her, trying to look annoyed.

"Oh please, you're not mad with me, you love me," Keira informed her impishly.

"I guess I'm just mad that you know me so well," Lily admitted, a smile gracing her lips.

"I know, I'm wonderful," Keira said blithely. "But seriously, you need me to help keep you out of your mopey funks. Liam will be back in like, five nights."

"But it's so lonely, especially at night," Lily said sadly. "I mean, he rings me like normal, but it just reminds me that he's miles away and that I can't see him the next day."

"Yeah, you'll cope," Keira said cheerfully, she was fond of the tough love approach. She also knew it was what Lily needed, Lily would have her little whine and feel better, so long as Keira didn't let her wallow. "You've still got us."

Lily laughed lightly and said, "True. But what about the parties later this week? All your boyfriends will be around, and I'll be a wallflower."

"You, a wallflower? You're the life of the party Lily Kane. I'm going to say this once now, and for the last time. It sucks that your boyfriend is away for our last spring break, and that pretty much all our friends decided to stay in Neptune, leaving you the only lonely one, but you're going to survive," Keira said gently, but firmly at the same time. "Or at least, I'm pretty sure you'll survive," she added teasingly.

"Okay, good to know," Lily agreed, a natural smile easing onto her face. "I believe we're in the right place for prom dresses now, aren't we?"

"That we are," Keira agreed, her eyes sweeping the area surrounding them. Mia, Sophie and Melanie stood nearby, all staring lovingly at various designer dresses.

"Oh, that one is so pretty," Lily said, practically cooing at a green chiffon Alexander McQueen dress. "But I already wore green to Homecoming. I have too much green Alexander McQueen stuff anyway."

"You've worn quite a lot of colours this year," Keira remarked. "Very versatile of you, and oh so fashionable," she teased, though her words also held truth.

"Yeah, well when you're the queen you have to set a good example," Lily explained carefully, her eyes twinkling.

"Do think it's going to be weird, going to college, and not being the queen anymore?" Keira asked curiously. She'd never quite been able to fully understand what Lily's thoughts really were on her position of queen, and the popularity and power that it held.

"I don't think I'll miss it. It might be nice just to be me for a while, not me leading a bunch of people," Lily said thoughtfully. "I mean I do enjoy it to an extent, and people are always going to look for someone to follow."

"Makes sense," Keira responded. "So, what colour do you think for prom?"

"For me?" Lily asked in clarification.

"Yes you, I already know I want to wear black or red, I think," Keira replied.

"Well, I've already worn green and pink to school dances, and I have silver for the spring dance. I've worn red and gold a bit to parties," Lily said thoughtfully. "Maybe something in a darker purple or blue?"

_Can't live without your love, what it's like without your love, the whole world sucks without your love_

Wednesday night found Lily lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling, her cell phone clutched tightly in one hand. She was waiting, and not very patiently for Liam to call.

"When did I become this clingy, needy, dependant girlfriend?" Lily asked herself aloud, sounding quite unimpressed.

"And great, now I'm talking to myself, out loud," she muttered.

"_No more talking aloud then. And it's not like I'm super clingy at least, I mean I'm just waiting for him to call. It's not like I've called ten times, or left him a bunch of messages,"_ Lily thought to herself.

"_I guess, I just miss him so much,"_ Lily mused. _"Well, if I can't have him with me now, at least I can think about when he was here with me,"_ she decided, her spirits lifting somewhat.

**Flashback**

After meeting the Echolls outside, the five of them walked across the road and into the house together, and found everyone out the back, talking animatedly.

Lily sat down with Aubrey on her lap, and Liam on one side, and surveyed the group of people around her, and decided that in the moment, life was pretty good.

Her dad was sitting with one arm around Eva, talking to Mac. Mac's eyes seemed to have lost their tired look, and she seemed very interested in what Duncan was saying. Eva was sitting quietly by, just happy to listen for the time being.

Dick and Wallace had procured a small basketball and were playing with it with Justin.

Amanda was sitting off to the side, enjoying watching them, but also keeping a close eye on them, in case of any accidents. She also was keeping a watch over Caroline, who had plopped herself down on the ground with her dolly. She had found her dolly in Mac's bag, and had been quite pleased with her find.

Upon joining the scene, Veronica sat down next to Mac, and began to join in their conversation, only after she'd said hello to Mac's stomach of course.

Logan sat down on the other side of Lily, smiled adoringly at his daughter, then said to Liam, "So, I think you've met everyone here, but only briefly. Are you ready to survive an evening with all of us?"

Liam caught an encouraging look from Lily and said bravely, "I'm looking forward to it."

Logan chuckled and said, "Good to see he's rather self-assured Lily, he's going to need to be to keep up with you."

"And if he's going to make it out alive after spending time with my over-protective males," Lily muttered under her breath.

"What's that Lily-love?" Logan asked cheerfully.

"Oh, I'm just so happy we're all together," Lily replied, and truthfully, because that was the way she was feeling.

At that pointed Caroline toddled across the deck and attached herself to Liam's leg with a squeal of "Leem!"

Lily giggled and said, "She's almost got your name down."

"She still remembers me?" Liam asked curiously, any hint of his arrogance long gone.

"Of course, she likes you, sometimes asks for you when I see her. She's been working on your name for a while," Lily told him.

Logan watched the young couple talking, and realised they weren't even aware of his presence anymore. He smiled at Aubrey, then moved off to talk to Dick and Wallace.

"Hey man," Logan greeted Dick. "How's it going Wallace?"

"Dude, did you see the swell charts today, I wish we'd been out there," Dick replied.

"I hate working inside on a day like today, you guys have it pretty good, working from your beach front homes," Wallace remarked, no jealousy evident in his voice.

"It is pretty great," Logan agreed. "Want to go for a surf tomorrow?" Logan asked, directed at Dick.

"Hell yes," Dick began, then quickly looked around, to make sure that no children were within his hearing. He breathed a sigh of relief, finding all the children weren't close by, and continued, "We'd better get in a few good surfs before Mackie has the baby. It's going to be crazy after it's born."

"It?" Wallace questioned.

"Yeah, we don't know what we're having, Mackie didn't want to find out," Dick replied. "You guys are having a little girl aren't you? Don't worry, Logan and I will teach you all our tricks on looking after girls."

Meanwhile Duncan was saying to Veronica, "So, how was it, going back to the office?"

"It felt good. Being at the office is a little different to doing some work out of home, it just feels more real," Veronica answered.

"Really?" Eva asked. "I always feel kind of reluctant when I go back to work after a break. I mean, I love my job, but still."

"Yeah, but I've been off since before Aubrey was born, so it's been a while," Veronica replied.

"Are you and Logan thinking about more kids?" Duncan asked.

Veronica chuckled and Duncan said, "What?"

"You just sound out of place, and look out of place, with us women," Veronica said, suppressing another chuckle.

Mac just grinned in agreement and Eva nodded cheerfully.

"I can see when I'm not wanted, and when my question is being avoided, I'll go hang with the 'men'," Duncan retorted good-humouredly.

"Oh, I wasn't avoiding that question, of course we'd like more kids," Veronica replied to Duncan's retreating back.

Duncan just nodded and kept walking.

"Have you thought about what you'll do with your business if you have more kids?" Mac asked. "I mean, will I have a client to replace?"

"I'll keep working, but not as much I guess. Logan and I haven't actually discussed it. We're more living in the now, mainly because we can afford to," Veronica said, content with life. "You're not stopping work with baby number two coming, Mac?"

"You should know me better than that Veronica," Mac chided gently. "I'd go crazy without at least a little bit of work."

"I just meant, because you've seemed so tired lately. I thought you might take a break, just while the kids are so young," Veronica countered.

"I guess, but I've got enough time, and Dick's very helpful, in his own way," Mac said, looking fondly at her husband.

"I'm just going to go in and lay everything out on the table," Eva announced.

"Oh, we'll come and help, we can leave the kids with the guys, and we'll prise Lily away from Liam. She can help too," Veronica said decidedly, looking at Lily with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

"Oh that's just mean Veronica," Mac replied, her eyes dancing. "Logan and Dick mightn't be very gentle with him."

"Oh Logan's had plenty of opportunities to be really mean, I'm sure he'll play nicely. Besides, I'm sure Amanda will stay out here and keep and eye on things. God knows we need to leave at least one adult with this bunch," Veronica joked.

Eva went inside ahead of Mac and Veronica. Veronica detoured to collect Lily, and Mac waddled in after Eva, as fast as her condition would allow.

Lily left Liam, a little reluctantly, and went inside to help with setting the table.

She glanced out the window and stood Liam standing with the other guys, a little off to the side though.

"Aunt Ronica, you all don't have some sort of prank prepared for Liam, do you? Because I've already pranked him very well, he's already terrified of me, do don't worry about that," Lily rambled a little nervously.

"Relax, we've got nothing planned. I trust they'll be good. I mean, Wallace is always lovely and Dick is just a harmless goofball really," Veronica replied.

"And your father does like Liam, at least as much as any father likes his daughter's boyfriend," Eva added.

"Still, I feel uneasy," Lily said.

"That's actually almost as good as a prank, or some Logan Echolls teasing," Mac mused. "I mean, if you and Liam are worried the whole time, waiting for something to happen, and it doesn't, it works just as well, or perhaps better."

"I don't know if I quite follow," Lily said, furrowing her brows in confusion.

"Oh, but I do, and it's brilliant Q!" Veronica exclaimed.

Lily just shook her head in amusement and walked through to the dining room, holding a bowl of salad.

**End flashback**

The night had gone surprisingly well, for the first evening that Liam had been immersed in the company of her interesting, extended family, for that's what they all were really.

There had been no pranks, and only light teasing, and Liam had withstood it all well. He'd been on his best behaviour really. He hadn't been the arrogant 09er king, he'd been the boy Lily had fallen for, the boy that he tended to be when he was with her.

Lily sighed and wished he was with her then.

Her wish was almost answered, as her phone buzzed, and Liam's name appeared on the screen.

_Cause I'm missing you, missing your love_

Thursday afternoon found Lily and her friends lying on towels on the beach in front of the Kane's house, dressed in bikinis, soaking up the warm April sun.

Lily was wearing her new yellow bikini, sunglasses and a pale pink, straw sunhat.

"Time to rotate," Sophie announced with a giggle.

All the girls flipped from their backs to their stomachs.

"I can't actually believe we're lying on the beach tanning, and you're timing us to let us know when to switch sides," Keira remarked.

"Well, it does kind of makes sense, we don't want uneven tans," Mia replied.

"Yeah, can you imagine if you were 'getting busy' with Ethan and he was like, 'Babe, your heaps dark on one side, and heaps lighter on the other," Melanie said with a giggle.

Lily let out a shout of laughter and exclaimed, "That reminds me of that episode of _F.R.I.E.N.D.S_, where Ross goes to get fake tanned, but ends up being sprayed 8 times on the one side."

"He looked like a tall Oompa Loompa," Sophie giggled. "And everyone laughed at him."

"Okay, so timing our tanning is a good idea," Keira allowed. "I'm just lucky it doesn't take much sun to give me a good tan."

"You do have the best skin," Mia agreed.

"Oh, by the way, does anyone want me to pick them up on the way to Jim's party tonight? I'm not going to drink, so you might as well come with me," Lily announced.

"You're not drinking?" Mia asked curiously. "It's Spring Break!"

"I know, but I don't really feel like it. I'll just drink heaps, then feel bad in the morning. And anyway, you'll all be better off if I don't drink, I'll just become a sad, crying drunk, and whine about Liam not being there," Lily accurately predicted.

"Yeah, maybe you're better off not drinking," Keira agreed.

"You can pick me up Lil," Sophie said. "Chris is going over earlier, to drink, or play video games or something."

"Sure," Lily replied. "Anyone else?"

"You can take me too Lil, but I'm going to stay the night there," Mia answered.

Melanie and Keira were being taken by their boyfriends, so they both declined.

"Time to rotate," Sophie announced again.

"Last rotation, then we'd better finish up," Lily decided. "I might have a quick swim before we leave though, it's quite warm enough."

Presently, the girls all walked down to the waves and had a brief frolic, splashing each other and squealing as the water hit their skin.

Once they left the water they walked back to their towels, dried off and grabbed their things. They made their way back up to Lily's house, then they all apart for Lily, went to their cars and drove home to get ready for the party.

Once inside Lily decided that there was enough time to quickly squeeze in a bit of English study before she had to get ready for the party.

She sat down with her things at the table outside, a lightweight shirt thrown over her bikini.

She wasn't really looking forward to the party, even if it was supposed to be a very good one, Spring Break ones usually were, and they always involved mass quantities of alcohol. If Liam had been going, Lily would have been enthusiastically looking forward to the party, but the prospect of being the only single of her friends was not a bright one. Sure, they'd include here, but she'd been the odd one out.

Lily was a little annoyed at herself for being so morose about her boyfriend's absence, but she was too focused on missing him to be really annoyed.

Lily packed her work away with a sigh, then went inside to the shower, to wash the ocean water out of her hair, and to remove any last bits of lingering sand.

After that she dressed in a hot pink, strapless playsuit, twisted her hair into a large bun and slipped into a pair of cream wedges. She looked out her window, and noticed that night had fallen, so she grabbed at light, cream jacket, then set off. It was time to party!

**AN: By the way, t****here will definitely be more Logan and Dick funniness with their daughters in the next instalment of this series. At the moment my plan is to do it about 14 years on, when Aubrey is beginning high school! It will be a LoVe story :)**

******Please review :)**


	33. Chapter 32 Somewhere

**AN: Hello, bad author here. Sorry it's been so long since my last update, I've been super busy with work, siblings, house work, and I partied like Logan Echolls on Saturday night, which resulted in a small amount of memory loss and recovery time the next day...**

**Anyhow, here's the next chapter, thanks to all your great reviews (especially the guest reviwers, Ali-cat, Nichole and Angel) from the last chapter! And welcome to any new readers, thanks for alerting!**

**Oh, and with the whole college thing, I researched it to make it as accurate as possible, so please forgive any incorrect details :)**

Chapter 32 – Somewhere

_There's a time for us, someday a time for us_

"Lily!" Liam called.

Lily jumped off from her position on the sand in front of her house, spun around and ran towards her boyfriend.

After throwing her arms around him and kissing him repeatedly she said, "I wasn't expecting you to be home for a couple more hours!"

Liam chuckled, pleased with her reaction and said, "We came home a few hours early, I wanted to have a bit more time with you today. I missed you."

"I missed you too, so much," Lily replied.

"Missed me? In Neptune with all your friends on Spring Break?" Liam asked.

"You know I missed you, it's not Neptune without you," Lily replied, grinning.

"Good, that's what I like to hear," Liam replied. "So any chance your dad and Eva are out? I wouldn't know, as I came straight down the side of the house."

"How did you know I was out here?" Lily asked, puzzled.

Liam let out a loud laughed and said, "You told me!"

"I did?" Lily asked, still confused.

"You sent me a message, saying, wait, I'll just read it out," Liam replied, then fished in his pocket to retrieve his phone. "Here's it is, 'Hey handsome, have a safe flight, I'm lying on the beach in my new bikini, can't wait to see you'."

"Oh, right, forgot about that, what with seeing you again," Lily said, abashed.

"You're adorable," Liam said indulgently. "Mmm, and super hot. I really like this bikini too, by the way."

Lily was wearing her green bandeau bikini, and had already developed a nice tan from her days in the dun over the week.

Lily giggled and said, "I hoped you might." Then she leaned up and kissed him, only pulling away when they were both breathless.

"So, your house, is anyone there?" Liam asked again.

"Nope," Lily answered with a grin. "I artfully managed to have them go to Granddad's for the afternoon. How much do you love me?"

"So, so, so much. How about we discuss it a bit more, but say in your bed?" Liam suggested salaciously.

"Or we could try the couch, or the bench," Lily said seductively.

Liam's eyes darkened and he took her hand and started to practically drag her up the beach.

"Liam, my things!" Lily exclaimed, pointing to her towel, phone and sunglasses.

"Wait right there, I'll grab them," Liam instructed, jogging towards her things.

He collected her things, then quickly made his way back to her.

"I kind of like having a slave," Lily said with a giggle, when he reached her side and took her hand.

"I'm not a slave," Liam retorted. "I could work with being your sex slave though."

"I think I'm good with you just being my boyfriend," Lily replied. "I can see your mind working now, you're busy thinking about binding and leather and whips, and it's not happening! Well, it's definitely not happening today."

"So, maybe one day?" Liam asked hopefully.

"You might have more luck starting with something like a naughty school girl or a French maid," Lily replied, smiling.

"Duly noted," Liam returned, clearly already working on a new fantasy.

"But now, seeing as we're finally inside, how about we concentrate on here and now?" Lily suggested, leaning in to kiss him.

Liam more than happily agreed.

A couple of hours later, after trying the couch, bench and shower, Lily and Liam lay spent in her bed.

"I don't think I'll be able to walk, ever again," Lily said with a giggle.

"I think I should go away more often if I get to come back to a greeting like that," Liam remarked.

"Of if you didn't go away you wouldn't have to forgo sex for the whole time you were gone," Lily countered.

"Fair point," Liam allowed. "And now I think you're going to have to get up and walk, and get dressed, because our lives won't be worth living if your dad comes home and were lying here like this."

Lily gave a little groan, then slowly moved into an upright position and started looking for her clothes.

"Oh that's right, I was only wearing a bikini, I need fresh clothes," Lily muttered, trying to sort out her thoughts.

Lily fished in her closet for something comfortable and emerged dressed in a pair of light blue denim shorts and a lightweight, dark green, button up shirt.

Liam was still lying on her bed.

"Uh, Liam, what are you doing?" Lily asked.

"My clothes are somewhere downstairs, along with your bikini I believe," Liam replied.

"And?" Lily asked.

"And I think it would be better if you retrieved them, now that you're dressed," Liam answered.

"Right, good point. Avoid all possibly awkward situations at pretty much all costs," Lily said with a grin.

Liam nodded vigorously. "I figured your dad and Eva could get home any time from now, so I thought I'd just stay up here," he explained.

"Got it, I'll just duck down and rescue your clothes before they do get back," Lily told him.

She slipped downstairs and returned with Liam's clothes and her bikini, and dropped her bikini in the laundry chute before giving Liam his clothes.

Once he was dressed they went downstairs and put the TV on, and Lily produced some snacks. Lily always figured it was best to look busy doing something G rated when her dad got home.

As they sat there, eating popcorn and watching a movie, Liam remarked, "So, we should hear back from colleges any time from now."

"Yeah," Lily agreed softly. She knew what the date was, and the fact that acceptance letters should be arriving soon had been weighing on her mind.

"How are you feeling about it?" Liam asked gently.

"Okay, strange, apprehensive, excited, confused, a little bit of everything I guess," Lily replied, her sentence punctuated with a nervous giggle at the end.

"You can feel all that at once?" Liam asked, a little dazed.

"Yeah, I suppose it's a bit overwhelming," Lily agreed. "But it'll be all over soon at least."

_There's a place for us, somewhere a place for us_

On Tuesday afternoon Lily arrived home to find several fattish envelopes waiting for her, and a couple of thinner ones. The size of the letter didn't completely guarantee what it would contain though.

Lily dropped her stuff on the floor and sat down at the kitchen bench, deliberating whether to open them now, by herself, or to wait for her dad and Eva, or to go to Veronica's and open them with her, or to call Liam and ask him to come over so she could open them with him.

She quickly ruled out calling Liam, she needed to process everything on her own first. She also didn't really want to wait to until Duncan and Eva got home from work either. So she collected her mail, grabbed her cell phone and purse, patted her pocket to check for her keys, then walked out the front and to her car.

When she got to the Echolls' she walked to the front door and absently knocked on it.

Veronica opened the door and said, "Lily? Is everything alright? You don't usually knock."

"Oh right, I was just thinking," Lily replied, walking inside. "I got some mail today, I thought I'd come over and open it with you."

"College letters?" Veronica guessed.

"You should be a detective or something," Lily jested lightly. "Yeah, I've got a little collection here."

"Should we find something sugary and baked to eat before we open them?" Veronica asked. "We've got about thirty minutes before Aubrey wakes up and Logan is his is office, working, or playing a video game."

"I'm going to guess he's playing a video game," Lily said with a grin. "And yes, I would like something to eat. Are there any snickerdoodles?"

"Yes, yes there are," Veronica answered, leading the way to the kitchen.

After diving into the cupboards and the fridge, two glasses of milk and a plate of snickerdoodles sat on the bench, and Lily and Veronica sat at the bench. The letters were still in their envelopes and sat on the bench, a little to the left of Lily's left elbow.

"So, shall we open them?" Veronica asked.

"Okay, so I've got five letters here, which means I'm still missing two. There's Columbia, Pennsylvania, Yale, Princeton, Harvard and UCLA," Lily announced after reading through the markings on the letters thoroughly. "So, no Stanford yet, or Berkeley."

Lily opened the letters, read through them quickly, scanning their contents for the important information. Veronica sat by, waiting expectantly.

"Well?" Veronica finally asked.

"It's a no from Yale, Harvard and Princeton, and a yes from Columbia, Pennsylvania and UCLA. UCLA is only my back up though," Lily told Veronica.

"Columbia and Pennsylvania? That's great Lily! You could go to my alma mater," Veronica replied. "They're both Ivy League schools too."

"I know, they're both great schools, but so are Stanford and Berkeley, I can't make any decision until I hear from them," Lily replied.

"So, do you have a preference out of the four of them? Or just Columbia and Pennsylvania?" Veronica asked carefully.

"I think I'd rather go to a California school, to be honest. I know they're all just a plane ride away, but Berkeley and Stanford are much closer to home, weekend visits would be possible," Lily answered. "If I don't get in to Berkeley or Stanford, I guess I'd prefer Columbia. I love New York."

"I love New York too, but that doesn't tell me whether or not you prefer Columbia over Penn," Veronica replied with a gentle smile. "Same with the California schools. It's good that they're closer to home, but do you like them?"

"I guess I still prefer Columbia, university wise. And I really quite like the look of Berkeley," Lily answered.

"Well, we'll see how things pan out," Veronica said calmly. "Does Liam have any impact on where you choose to go?"

"To a degree," Lily answered slowly. "I mean, I don't see our relationship is something to pass the time in high school, I want it to last, so I guess the choices for our futures have to be shared, to an extent. But if I get into Stanford that doesn't mean I'll just automatically choose it, not because of Liam."

"It sounds like you've thought it through well then," Veronica replied, pleased with Lily's thoughts. "Now, are you staying for dinner? We're having lasagne."

"I can't, not tonight Aunt Ronica, but another time soon," Lily answered. "I should get home, do some homework, call Liam, show Daddy my letters. Wow, that's a lot to do, so I should actually go now."

Veronica walked with Lily to the door and they paused at it and Lily said, "Oh! I didn't see Aubrey, she didn't wake up. Which reminds me, any news on Aunt Mac and the baby?"

"Nope, just that she's just about ready to pop and she's pretty much over looking like a whale. Just the usual," Veronica said with a laugh. "I'm sure Dick will ring Logan the moment it happens, or as soon as he stops panicking once something happens. I promise to call you as soon as we know."

"Thank you, I just can't wait to see what they have!" Lily exclaimed. "Anyway, I really should go now. Thanks for afternoon tea and opening my letters with me."

She gave Veronica a quick hug and kissed her cheek, then walked quickly across to her car and drove home.

Once home Lily rang Liam.

When he answered his phone she said in a slightly reserved tone, "Hey Liam."

"Hey babe, you okay? You sound a little down," Liam replied.

"Not down, just thinking," Lily returned. "Did you get any mail today?"

"No? I'm guessing you did though. College letters?" Liam enquired.

"Yep, five, I'm missing two," Lily answered.

"So, you going to tell me what they said?" Liam asked curiously.

"Columbia, UCLA and Pennsylvania said yes. I haven't heard from Stanford and Berkeley yet, so when they come I guess that's when I'll have to make my decision," Lily informed him.

"That's great babe! UCLA is just a back up, right?" Liam asked.

"Yeah, and Columbia and Pennsylvania are East Coast schools though, so I'm kind of hoping Stanford or Berkeley want me," Lily rambled.

"Lily, they're great schools, and I told you before, if you want to go to an East Coast school, we'll make it work," Liam said seriously.

"Okay, thank you, I love you," Lily replied gently. "I'd better go now though, I'll see you tomorrow."

_We'll find a new of living_

The next day Lily and Keira walked into Neptune High together, making plans for the Spring Dance.

Mid-sentence Keira stopped, then exclaimed, "Oh! I meant to call you yesterday, but I totally forgot. I got accepted to UCLA! I really didn't think I would, but I did!"

"That's amazing Keira! I'm so happy for you!" Lily cried, excited for her best friend.

"They've got a great cheerleading team too, so I'm really looking forward to that," Keira chattered. "What about you? Any letters for you?"

"A whole bunch," Lily replied.

"And?" Keira prompted.

"And I've got a yes from Columbia, Pennsylvania and UCLA," Lily said.

"You mean we might go to college today? Wait, no you'll go to one of the others, they're better. That means you'll be on the other side of the country to me! Hang on, no, you still haven't heard from the other California schools," Keira rambled.

Lily laughed then said, "Having a good conversation with yourself there?"

Keira giggled and nodded.

"You're pretty much right though. If I don't get into Stanford or Berkeley I guess I'll go to school on the East Coast, probably Columbia. But no matter what, we have phones, and the internet, and it's just one plane trip, so we don't get to be sad now. Maybe later, but not yet," Lily instructed lightly.

Keira nodded, then they walked over to join Mia and Sophie who were leaning against their lockers.

That night Lily was snuggled in her bed, tired after a long day of school work and a lot of talk about college.

Just as her eyes were drooping closed her phone buzzed, and kept buzzing persistently, indicating an incoming call. She rolled over with a groan and grabbed it off her bedside table.

"Hello?" Lily answered sleepily.

"Lily, Mac's having the baby! You said I should call, so I am," Veronica said excitedly down the line.

Lily became instantly alert and said, "What? I'm up, I'm up! I'll tell Daddy and get dressed. Do you think it will be long?"

"Dick only just rang, but they're already at the hospital. Second babies are often quicker than first babies, so we're heading down now. Logan's calling as sitter as we speak, the things money will buy you, sitters at this time of the night," Veronica said with satisfaction.

"Okay, well I'll come down straight away I guess. I don't know about Daddy and Eva, but I'll see you soon anyway," Lily said, and ended the call.

Lily pulled a pair of jeans out of her closet, put them on, then found a shirt and jacket, making sure in her hurry to check that they matched.

She grabbed her purse and phone, then walked quietly into her dad and Eva's room.

Once at Duncan's side of the bed she shook his shoulder gently then whispered in his ear, "Daddy, Mac's at the hospital to have the baby, so I'm going down now. Are you coming?"

Duncan cracked open one eye and said, "No. Too. Tired. Message me when she has the baby, I'll come down in the morning with Eva. Drive safe."

With that Duncan closed his eyes again and rolled over, indicating that he was done talking.

Lily walked quietly back out of the room, down the stairs, then let herself outside to her car.

Once at the Neptune Memorial Hospital Lily walked the now familiar path towards the waiting area for maternity. She wondered idly about her own birth here, for she had been born in Neptune, and her mother, Meg, had died the same day.

She shook her head, deciding dwelling on a sad occasion did not befit a happy one like Mac and Dick having a new baby.

Lily sat down with Veronica and Logan to begin the wait. Dick was absent as he was in the room with Mac. He'd learnt from Caroline's birth, and was managing to keep it together, and not drive Mac to distraction.

After Lily, Veronica and Logan had been sitting, waiting for over an hour, Lily let out a huge yawn, which she unsuccessfully tried to swallow.

"Sweetie, are you sure you should be here? You've got school tomorrow," Veronica said, concerned.

"No, I want to be here. I'm fine," Lily insisted.

"You could go home, get some sleep, and come back before school in the morning," Logan suggested.

"No, I really want to be here. I wouldn't miss this for anything!" Lily exclaimed. "If I get really tired I'll have a nap or something."

Veronica nodded, letting it go, but she seemed uncertain about Lily's choice.

A couple of hours later found Lily napping with her head in Veronica's lap. Veronica looked fairly sleepy herself and Logan was talking quietly and hurriedly on his cell phone.

"Look, if she doesn't go back to sleep in the next thirty minutes we'll come home," he said, obviously to the sitter. "But just try rocking her, make sure she has her pacifier, there should also be a playlist of sleep songs on the iPod in her room."

A few seconds later he hung up the phone with a sigh, then sat back down next to Veronica.

Just as he hit the chair, Dick walked into the now dimly lit room, holding a little bundle.

"Dude, Ronnie, wake up! Lily, there's someone here to meet you!" Dick exclaimed in a proud, and hushed tone. Somehow, Dick managed to sound excited and still be quiet enough not to disturb his new baby.

Lily sprang up and Veronica's eyes snapped open.

Logan had a head start on them, already having been alert, and stood up first and said, "What did you have? How's Mac?"

"Mackie's great, tired but happy," Dick answered. Veronica and Lily were both wide awake by this point, so Dick announced, "And this is James. We have a son! He's pretty much perfect."

"James," Lily cooed. "James what?"

"James Patrick," Dick supplied.

"James Patrick Casablancas," Veronica said, trying the name out. "I like it."

**AN: Thanks for reading, please review :)**


	34. Chapter 33 I Wanna Dance with Somebody

**AN: I'm unsure of the etiquette on 'prom', I can't figure out whether is as a capitol when it refers to the event, as in the school dance. Sigh. I realised I'd been inconsistent with it throughout this story, so I apologise. I think I'm going to go with 'prom', not 'Prom', seeing as that seems to be the general consensus online.**

**Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter :) Thanks Angel and Nichole. Angel, there will definitely be more children, for everyone, in the next instalment :) Welcome to the new readers! **

Chapter 34 – I Wanna Dance with Somebody

_Clock strikes upon the hour, and the sun begins to fade, still enough time to figure out how to chase my blues away_

On Saturday afternoon Lily and Keira were sitting next to one another in their hair salon of choice, having their hair done for the Spring Dance which was taking place that night.

"James is just the cutest baby," Lily gushed. "He's got this little fuzzy crop of brown hair. It was so worth it waiting to meet him at the hospital, even if I practically fell asleep during most of my classes on Thursday."

"You did fall asleep," Keira said with a giggle. "Remember? I went to talk to you, or throw a note to you, whatever, during Study Hall, and you were practically snoring."

"I don't snore!" Lily exclaimed. "It's inelegant."

"Well, maybe you were drooling," Keira teased. "Anyway, I can't wait to meet him! What does Caroline think of him."

Lily let out a peel of laughter and the hairdresser looked somewhat amused and irked and said, "Lily, please, I need you to stay still while I'm using a hot curling iron."

"Oh, sorry," Lily said. "Caroline thinks he's a wonderful new toy that Uncle Dick has bought her. She calls him 'Dolly Jane'. She's under the impression that he, is a she, because all dollies are 'shes'."

Keira laughed at that, and both hairdressers chuckled as well. It was refreshing to hear talk about babies, instead of the snobby talk they often heard from their wealthy clients.

"Have you decided about college yet?" Keira asked, suddenly changing to a more serious topic.

"Well, no, not yet," Lily said slowly. "When I think I've almost made up my mind I get all confused and stressed and change it all over again."

Lily had received her letters from Berkeley and Stanford on Friday.

"Well, you've still got time," Keira said soothingly. She knew Lily was struggling with what decision to make, and didn't want to put any extra pressure on her.

"Not really, not much," Lily returned. "I mean, we're practically half way through April. Soon it'll be prom, then finals, then graduation. I'm going to have to decide before all of that."

"Well, I guess so," Keira allowed. "But for tonight, you're going to forget, and we're just going to have fun! You have a super hot boyfriend, you're the queen of Neptune High, and I happen to know that I helped you pick out a simply killer dress for tonight."

Lily grinned and said, "Yes, that you did. I do rather love this one. I've mainly gone elegant for school dances this year, but this one is more fun, it suits spring. Spring is happy and there are new babies, and flowers and everything is sunny, so that's what I'm going to think about. Tonight will be fun!"

"That's the spirit. I knew the real Lily Kane wasn't too far below that momentarily subdued exterior," Keira replied. "Well, my hair is done, and I think you're just about done?"

"Give me two minutes," the hairdresser answered, sticking a couple more pins in Lily's curls.

Ten minutes later the girls breezed out of the salon and walked towards Lily's BMW. They hopped inside, leaving the windows up. There was no way they were letting the wind ruin their freshly done hair.

Lily dropped Keira at her home, before continuing back to her own home.

Lily walked inside and dropped her keys on the table in the entrance room. She then walked into the living room where she found Eva reading a book.

Lily dropped her purse down next to the couch and plopped down next to Evelyn.

"What are you reading?" Lily asked.

"_Trixie Belden and the Mystery on the Mississippi_," Eva answered.

"Sounds…interesting," Lily remarked, her voice unsure.

"Sure, it sounds strange, but these were my favourite books when I was a kid!" Eva exclaimed. "I just found them in the back of a closet. When I moved in all my stuff came in a big bunch of boxes and I didn't unpack any of them. I remembered them today, and suddenly wanted to read them really badly. This one's one of my favourites. Seriously, they're just the best. Trixie is like Nancy Drew, but only better. I bet if you ask Veronica she'll know what I'm talking about."

Lily giggled then said, "Well, such eloquence has convinced me. Maybe I'll have a look at reading them during summer, seeing as you think they're so great."

"Really?" Eva asked.

"Sure! Then we can talk about them. I promise that I won't even wait for a rainy day to start reading," Lily teased.

"Okay, I'll hold you to that," Eva replied. "Oh, your hair looks great! The curls are lovely, you look like you're ready for fun."

"I am ready for fun," Lily replied, with an appropriately large grin.

"How long until you need to finish getting ready?" Eva asked. "Do you want something to eat before you go?"

"Maybe a berry smoothie? The dance starts at 7.30, Liam and I are just going in his Porsche, no group thing for this. So he'll pick me up at about 7 I guess, which means I've got about an hour and a half until I need to dress," Lily answered.

"Want to watch a movie then? I'll even stop reading my _Trixie_ book, and we should just have time for a shortish movie," Eva suggested.

"Sounds great! Where's Daddy though? Are we inviting him?" Lily asked.

"He's at your grandfather's," Eva answered. "And even if he was here, we're going to watch a chick flick, so he wouldn't be invited! I'll put a movie on, you go get your smoothie."

Lily and Eva watched _Clueless_ together, then Lily went and dressed for the evening. As the clock struck 7 the doorbell rang, announcing Liam's arrival.

Lily practically danced down the stairs to meet him, feeling very excited at the prospect of a night of dancing.

Duncan and Eva took the obligatory photos, then Lily and Liam left in the late twilight.

_Oh I wanna dance with somebody, I wanna feel the heat with somebody, yeah I wanna dance with somebody, with somebody who loves me_

At the school Liam walked around to open Lily's door for her. He had to wait while she checked her hair in the mirror. Liam had nobly agreed to put the Porsche's roof up so that her hair wouldn't get windswept before the dance, but even so, she needed to check that she was still looking her best.

"You look absolutely amazing tonight Lily," Liam told her sincerely as he helped her out of the car.

"Thank you," she replied cheerfully. "I feel amazing."

Liam pulled her to him and kissed her soundly, and for a long moment.

"I love you," Liam said, and then he took her hand, and they walked towards the school, along with many other couples who were all just arriving.

Lily's heels clicked on the ground as she walked, and her curls bounced gently. She was wearing a short, one sleeved, close fitting silver dress. It was covered in silver beads, sequins and pailette embellishment. The blush silk-chiffon underlining was soft against Lily's skin and she sighed with contentment at the way the dress made her feel. She was wearing a pair of metallic, strappy heels with the dress and big, chandelier drop earrings could be seen through her round curls. Overall the effect gave off a vague disco vibe and suited the fun atmosphere that the evening already had.

They walked into the decorated gym and it was already filled with students, most of them dancing to the upbeat song that was playing.

"Dance with me!" Lily exclaimed, tugging Liam towards the dance floor. The sound of the music made her forget meeting up with her friends, she just wanted to dance.

"I thought that was kind of the point?" Liam remarked with a chuckle, allowing her to pull him onto the dance floor.

Liam pulled her close and put his hands on her hips, and she looped her arms loosely around his neck. They moved their bodies in time to the music, their torsos lightly pressed against one another.

"It's funny you know, that we're both dancing like this, the way everyone else is, when I know that this is a jive," Lily comment. "And we both know I can jive, and I know that your parents made you learn basic ballroom."

"Yes, it's wonderful being the children of the wealthy," Liam said dryly.

"Oh, don't whinge. Maybe it sucked at the time, but it's useful to know how to dance now. Trust me, your parents will start making you go to more formal parties, and to charity events, and knowing how to dance will be useful. Plus, understanding how to dance makes dancing like this easier," Lily replied.

"Baby, I'd know how to dance with you even if I'd had never had any lessons," Liam said in a low voice, his breath tickling her ear. He pulled her even closer to him and their hips moved together in a sensual rhythm.

"Hey, you two, get a room!" Sophie called out, from her position on the floor, a few places over.

"Later," Liam said distractedly, lifting a hand of Lily's hips to wave Sophie away.

"Dude, you're practically having sex on the dance floor," Chris added teasingly.

Liam sighed and Lily giggled.

"God, can't I just dance with my girlfriend?" Liam asked.

"Of course Liam," Keira answered. She and Ethan had popped up on the other side of Liam and Lily.

"But dancing only, no foreplay," Ethan added.

Lily laughed and said, "You're all so funny. I've been enjoying your junior high style dancing."

Sophie squealed with laughter. "Oh, I so remember those dances, they were so awkward!"

"Let's go sit down so we can actually talk properly," Keira suggested. "Boys, you can find us something to drink."

The girls wandered off together and sat down. Melanie and Mia spotted them from where they had been on the dance floor and joined them.

"Hey girls," Sophie greeted them.

"I love your dress Mia," Lily said, after observing the metallic gold, bubble skirted mini dress that she was wearing.

"Well, I think we all look fabulous," Melanie said. "If we dress as well as this for prom, it's going to be a night to remember!"

"I think we'll remember it for a little more than our clothing," Keira said dryly.

"Yeah, of course, but at least we'll look hot in our photos," Melanie retorted. "I mean, have you seen some of the prom dresses from the 80s and 90s? They were **so** gross."

"I bet they thought they were pretty hot back then, so maybe we'll be ugly and outdated in thirty years," Lily remarked laughingly.

"Us? Ugly and outdated? I don't think so!" Mia exclaimed. "Mellie's right, we're fabulous."

"And so are we," Liam announced, as the guys reappeared, bearing drinks. "We managed to find you something to drink, I can't say it's anything exciting though. Just the old standard punch."

"Oh, we didn't really want drinks, we just wanted to get rid of you boys for a bit, but give you something to do to make you feel useful," Lily said seriously, her eyes twinkling.

"Oh, I see how it is. Well, here's your punch Miss Kane. Would you like to drink it, or would you care to dance?" Liam asked playfully.

Lily drank a mouthful of her punch, then set it down and said, "Dancing would be lovely!"

_I need a man who will take a chance on a love that burns hot enough to last_

"I need some air!" Lily shouted to Liam, raising her voice so that he'd hear her above the sound of the loud dance music.

"Okay, let's go for a walk then!" Liam replied, grabbing her hand and leading her off the floor.

"I think this is the best school dance ever," Lily said happily, as they walked down the cool hallway together.

"Is that just because you're feeling nostalgic about all this ending?" Liam asked.

"Yes and no. I mean I guess I want to enjoy all the last moments here, but this dance just seems more fun. There's no running for crowns, no real theme, like Valentine's Day, it's just for fun," Lily explained.

"Well I'm having fun, because I'm with you," Liam said, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her.

Lily kissed him back, then when they broke apart she sighed happily and said, "See? This is the best school dance."

"It might be a good dance, but I've heard college parties are even better," Liam remarked. "Especially Californian ones."

"Liam," Lily said warningly. "I get that you want to know what my decision will be, now that all my letters have come, but I just need you to be patient a little while longer."

"Making out in my car might make me feel more patient," Liam said hopefully.

"Liam, we came in the Porsche. It's not very conducive to make out sessions," Lily said, giggling.

"How do you feel about the locker room then. I know where a key is, and I promise it's all clean now," Liam suggested.

"The locker room?" Lily asked dubiously.

"Sure, locker room sex would be hot!" Liam said enthusiastically.

"All sex looks good to you," Lily teased. "Besides, how did we get from making out to sex?"

"Because I'm a normal, horny teenage guy," Liam supplied accurately.

"Good answer! That should help you for your biology final," Lily teased.

"Yes I feel it might," Liam said seriously. "It might help me even more if we visited the locker room now though, you know, to make sure I remember everything properly."

"Okay, lead the way. And make sure you're sneaky about it, I do not want to be caught!" Lily warned, grinning.

Sometime later they were back walking down the same hallway, looking slightly more dishevelled than they had thirty minutes ago.

Lily smoothed down the skirt of her dress and paused to check her hair in a nearby piece of glass. She then looked over at Liam to check his appearance, then burst into a fit of giggles and said, "Your shirt, Liam!"

Liam looked down at his shirt to see that his buttons were done up, but they were done up unevenly.

He quickly undid them, briefly exposing his toned and muscled torso, then did them back up so that the buttons were in the right holes.

"Come on, we'd better get back to the dance now," Liam said, when they were properly dressed.

Lily nodded and they walked back into the gym together, making an unobtrusive entrance thanks to the loud music that most people were dancing too.

Lily and Liam stepped onto the dance floor to rejoin their friends dancing and just as Liam had pulled Lily's body close up against his, the music changed. The soft opening strains of Aerosmith's _I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing_ filled the gym.

Those couples who weren't interested in slow dancing left the floor, but Lily didn't notice them. She just put her arms around Liam's neck and leaned into him, and looked straight into his blue eyes.

Liam placed his hands snugly on her waist, and they danced slowly to the song.

"_Well every moment spent with you, is a moment I treasure_." The lyrics floated out into the room as Lily and Liam swayed.

"Do you remember our slow dance at Homecoming?" Lily asked.

"Way to kill the mood babe," Liam replied. "Of course I remember. You looked absolutely breath taking, but I knew you weren't mind, I thought you'd never be mine, and I only got one song where I could hold you. Plus you told me some rather harsh truths, and I needed to hear them. But let's just say it wasn't my finest night."

"I know, that's what I was thinking about," Lily said gently. "I mean, if you look back to then, and then you look at us now, you can see how far we've come. So maybe it was a bad night, but I guess it needed to happen for us to be where we are now."

"_Then I kiss your eyes and thank God we're together, and I just wanna stay with you, just stay in this moment forever, forever and ever."_

"I suppose so," Liam agreed. "Or we could just think about the many, awesome, corny slow dances we had at the Valentine's Day dance."

Lily giggled and said, "Be quiet now and just dance with me."

"I love you Lily," Liam said softly.

"And I love you," Lily returned with a gentle smile.

"_Don't wanna close my eyes, don't wanna fall asleep, yeah, I don't wanna miss a thing."_

The song finished then a voice rang out over the speaker system, "That was our last dance for the evening. The dance is over, thank you students. We'll see you all on Monday."

The normal lights came on, replacing the party lights that had lit the gym, and the couples on the floor walked off to collect their things.

Lily and Liam walked out of the school and towards the parking lot with Ethan and Keira.

Lily noticed Scott off to the side, walking with a brunette junior who must have been his date. She gave him a small smile, which he returned.

Liam and Lily reached his Porsche and Liam said, "So, I'll drive you home now?"

"Oh that's right, no after party so to speak of tonight. I was thinking we could actually go to your house for a bit first?" Lily said seductively.

"Yes, quick get in, let's go!" Liam said comically. "I'm guessing you remembered that Mom and Dad are out of town."

"Yep, I always remember important details like that!" Lily said with a giggle.

**AN: Thanks for reading, please review :)**


	35. Chapter 34 The Voice Within

**AN: Well, this is the fourth last chapter! Senior year is almost over! Thanks for the reviews from last chapter :) Thanks Angel, and thanks Ali-cat for your reviews from the last two. I'll be trying to update every second day from now until the story is done!**

**Happy Father's Day for those in Australia :)  
**

Chapter 34 – The Voice Within

_Young girl don't cry, I'll be right here when your world starts to fall_

"Thanks for dinner Aunt Ronica, I'll see you all at the Fennel's tomorrow for dinner?" Lily said as she stepped out the front door of the Echolls' home.

"Of course sweetheart. You're more than welcome to come over and eat all the lasagne you want, you know that," Veronica said cheerfully. "I'd better run though, I can hear Aubrey wailing."

Veronica turned and went inside, shutting the door after her and Lily walked across the front yard and over to her car which was parked on the street.

She sighed and opened the door of her car and got in. Instead of driving straight off she sat there for a moment, thinking. She had a decision to make but she didn't know how to make it. She couldn't avoid it, seeing her Dad reminded her of it, seeing Liam really reminded her of it, but she couldn't avoid them. So she continued to see them, feel bombarded by college choices, but avoid talking about them. Columbia, Pennsylvania, stay in California, the options continually swirled around her brain, making her tired and stressed.

Lily pulled out from the curb and drove home.

"How was dinner?" Duncan asked once Lily had arrived home and found them in the living room.

"Oh good, you know, Aunt Veronica and I ate mountains of lasagne, Uncle Logan looked on in amusement, Aubrey waved her arms around and made a mess with her mush food," Lily recounted.

"Sounds normal," Duncan agreed. "So, any other news to share with me?"

"No, nothing to report," Lily said easily. Avoiding her dad's gentle prompting about college had become an art form.

"Well, I know they say that no news is good news, but I for one wouldn't mind hearing some, soon," Duncan said firmly, but gently.

"Oh, I do actually have some news for you," Lily said suddenly, as if remembering something. Her eyes took on a mischievous gleam and she pasted a casual look on her face.

"Yes?" Duncan asked expectantly.

"You're going to be a grandfather," Lily announced.

Duncan's face went white, absolutely white. He seemed somewhat stunned, and didn't move for almost a full minute.

Lily just watched him, hiding her amusement and waiting for his next action.

Eventually he yelled, "Evelyn! Get in here, now!"

Eva walked quickly into the room, still in her uniform, for she had only just got home from work shortly before Lily arrived home.

"What's the shouting for, Duncan?" Eva asked, mildly irked and mild intrigued.

"She's…pregnant," Duncan said, pointing at Lily. "I wanted you to come here so you can make sure I don't go and kill Liam, at least not before I hear the whole story."

Eva looked at Lily, appalled. "Lily Kane! He's joking, right?" Eva asked.

"I never said I was pregnant," Lily said cheerfully.

"You said I was going to be a grandfather!" Duncan roared.

"That's true, but for all you know I could be adopting a puppy," Lily replied cheekily.

"This isn't funny Lily! Be serious, please," Duncan ordered. "So you're not pregnant?"

"No Daddy, I'm not pregnant," Lily replied. "I was thinking about getting a dog though, that's all I meant."

Duncan shook his head, and Eva looked mildly reproachfully at Lily.

"That really wasn't funny Lily, you practically gave me a heart attack. I must say I do have more of an appreciate for what I put my parents through," Duncan said thoughtfully. "Still, don't ever do that again, or I will work out how to ground you."

"Yes Daddy," Lily said meekly. "Can I go to my room now? Maybe do some homework and get ready for bed?"

"Yes, off you go," Duncan said distractedly, his mind clearly still reeling from the last ten minutes.

Lily trotted up the stairs, quite pleased with herself. Sure, it had been a bit of a mean thing to do to her dad, but it did mean that he was decidedly distracted for the time being, which meant that he hopefully wouldn't have many more questions about college for the time being.

Lily did a bit of her school work, then called Keira.

"Hey Lil," Keira greeted her. "It's a bit late, isn't it?"

"Not really," answered Lily, glancing at her clock.

"Did you want to talk, maybe about…" Keira began.

"No, I don't really want to talk about that, I think," Lily replied. "I guess I just wanted someone to talk to, who won't want to talk about college."

"Well, I'm your girl," Keira said cheerfully. "We can talk about anything. How about how you've been nominated for prom queen, again?"

"Or about how you've been nominated for prom queen, again," Lily retorted teasingly.

"Yes, it's lovely the way the people love us," Keira said in a sing song voice. "And particularly lovely that our school has a prom for us every year. So many opportunities to wear nice dresses and for you to collect crowns."

"So nice of them indeed," Lily agreed playfully. "I seem to have more than enough crowns though now, perhaps somebody else should be queen."

"Are you kidding?" Keira scoffed. "You're Lily Kane, you're already the queen, and it's your senior prom, and you're dating Liam Armistead. You're going to be the queen, whether you want it or not."

"I suppose," Lily allowed, though her mind set to work trying to come up with ideas for perhaps avoiding it. Nothing came to mind though, so she quickly concluded that one more crown wouldn't hurt. "So, you and Ethan aren't going to campaign hard to try for the title?"

"Oh, I think not. We're not much for campaigning, you know that," Keira replied.

"Yep, there's always just a few big pictures of everyone nominated on the walls, and that's that," Lily agreed. "It's so nice of them to use our year book photos. They're so…flattering."

"Well I will admit they're not the nicest photos, but we don't look bad in them at least," Keira remarked.

"All true. Well, it's been nice worrying about trivial and inconsequential material things with you, but I think I'm good to go to bed now," Lily concluded.

"Okay, see you tomorrow. Night Lil," Keira replied.

"Goodnight Keira," Lily returned softly, then hung up the phone.

Lily went and pulled on a pair of pink, cotton pyjamas then slipped downstairs to say goodnight to Eva and her dad.

"Goodnight Daddy," Lily said meekly, still mindful of their previous interaction during the evening.

"Goodnight sweetheart," Duncan said calmly, and kissed her forehead.

She smiled tentatively at him, then he gave her a warm hug, so she knew that he wasn't mad with her anymore.

She went back upstairs and stuck her head into her dad and Eva's bedroom where Eva was already in bed.

"Goodnight Eva," Lily said softly from the door.

"Sleep well Lily," Evelyn returned.

Lily slipped in between her sheets and sighed. She had told Keira she was good to go to bed, but she wasn't really. Going to be left her alone with only her thoughts for company, and these days, her thoughts were complicated and stressful. She closed her eyes and sighed, and a few tears trickled down her cheeks.

_When you're safe inside your room you tend to dream, of a place where nothing's hard than it seems_

Lily was standing in an open field, looking rather agitated. Her face was contorted with confusion and she was wringing her hands.

Before her stood three large buildings, and out the front of each there was a large sign. The first sign read, "**Columbia**", the second, "**Pennsylvania**", and the third, "**Berkeley**".

Lily looked at one, then the next, then the next. She shook her head and sat down on the ground in a heap, sighing greatly.

From her spot on the ground she turned her head and noticed a couple of smaller buildings off to the side. The signs out the front of them read, "**UCLA**", and "**Stanford**".

"So, what do I do?" Lily asked aloud, her voice despairing.

"Daddy would love for me to go to either Columbia or Pennsylvania, they're Ivy League schools after all. Aunt Veronica would probably like it if I went to Pennsylvania, but I know she doesn't really care, I guess," Lily said, apparently talking to no one.

Lily continued to talk aloud, sorting out her thoughts. "Liam would love it if I went to Stanford, I mean, I know he's said we'll figure things out no matter where I go, but I know it would be easier for him if I chose Stanford. But I didn't get accepted to Stanford, did I? I mean, I could get in there, if I really wanted to, a letter from Granddad or Daddy and a nice donation would do the trick. I mean my grades are very good anyway."

"Then there's Berkeley, I guess it's really where I'd rather go. It's less than an hour from Stanford, and it's just a short plane trip away from home. I could visit easily that way, watch Aubrey, Caroline, James and the others grow up, still see everyone frequently," Lily reasoned. "I got in there, it's a very good school, it has classes that I want to take."

"Lastly there's UCLA, it's just my back up, so it's not really an option, but Keira is there and it's super close to home. But really, I don't think anyone, including me wants me to choose it," Lily said. "So, definitely no UCLA."

The smaller building with "**UCLA**" on the sign out the front faded out of the landscape.

From behind Lily a gently amused voice said, "That's an interesting talk you're having with yourself there."

Lily whirled around and said, "Who are you? How did you get here?"

She carefully studied the person in front of her, and realised that the woman looked rather familiar. In fact, she looked like her, Lily. Suddenly it clicked, and Lily realised that the woman looked like the pictures of her mother, Meg.

"Mommy?" Lily asked in a hushed tone.

Meg let out a tinkling laugh and said, "Yes darling, it's me."

"How are you here? Where is here?" Lily asked puzzled.

"It's your dream, we're wherever you want to be, I'm here because you want me here," Meg explained gently.

"Oh," Lily said simply. "So, you've been here for a while, listening to me ramble?"

"Yes, you seem rather conflicted," Meg remarked.

"You picked up on that?" Lily asked dryly.

"Just a bit," Meg said with a smile. "What I don't seem to understand is, why are you so confused about where to go to college? It should be an easy choice, you go to the school that is best for you."

"But there are a lot of factors," Lily said slowly.

"But should there be?" Meg asked seriously.

"Well, of course! It would be selfish if I didn't take some other things into account to make my choice," Lily replied, astonished.

"Really?" Meg pressed.

"Yes!" Lily insisted.

"So, what is most important to you? What are the most important things to you in choosing where you go to school?" Meg asked.

"Well, I want to go to a good school, I have the brains and the grades, and I'd be letting myself down if I didn't go to a good school. And Daddy wants me to go to a good school, and I don't want to let him down. But I also want to be close to home, to Daddy, to Aunt Veronica, and Aubrey, to all of them. And I don't want to be too far from Liam. Our relationship is very important to me, he said he'd move if I wanted to go to an East Coast school, but he has a football scholarship to Stanford, and I don't want him to give that up for me," Lily listed.

"So, it seems to me that your choice should be pretty simple. In fact, I think it's been staring you in the face, but you've been too stressed trying to work out what everyone else wants," Meg said gently.

"Well, yes, I suppose so," Lily said slowly. Just as she said it the lines of worry disappeared off her face, and a light, calm looked settled upon her.

She looked over to where the three large, prominent buildings had stood, and smiled happily at the remaining one.

_When there's no one else, look inside yourself, like your oldest friend, just trust the voice within_

Lily woke up after her bizarre dream and sleepily blinked her eyes. She noticed that there were rays on sun peeping through her curtains, so she knew it was morning.

Lily sat up in bed and began to remember the details of her dream. Once she started to think about her dream, the details became rather clear and vivid.

Her mother had been there, they had talked, and the choice she needed to make was now obvious. She'd gone to sleep crying, but had woken up smiling. The weight of choice had been lifted off her, her decision was made, and she'd never felt more sure about anything.

It was Thursday morning, which meant it was a school day, so Lily dove into her closet, chose a pale yellow shirt and a pair of light blue jeans. She pulled her hair into a ponytail, then put on her usual jewellery, then practically skipped downstairs to have breakfast.

Duncan and Eva were both already at the kitchen bench, both dressed for the day and eating breakfast. Before Lily left her bedroom she had grabbed the envelop containing the letter of acceptance to the school of her choice.

"I've made a decision," Lily announced cheerfully, waving the letter at them, then dropping in onto the bench in front of them.

They both looked quickly at the envelop and read the printed stamp on the front.

"You're sure?" Duncan asked.

"Sure," Lily confirmed. "We can talk more about it later, I have to eat and now run though. See you tonight at the Fennels'?"

"Of course," Duncan confirmed.

Lily busied herself about preparing a smoothie to go and once it was made she dashed up stairs to get her things.

Back downstairs she grabbed her smoothie, kissed both Duncan and Eva on the cheek, called, "Have a good day," and almost ran out the front door.

"Is that the same person that was living here last night?" Eva asked in wonder.

"She sure is something else," Duncan agreed. "I'm proud of her though. I don't know how, but even with her strange upbringing, she's turned into a responsible, kind and loving young woman."

"There's nothing to be surprised about Duncan," Eva said softly, moving over and wrapping her arms around him from behind. "You're a wonderful father, and your friends have been amazing influences on her."

"Thanks sweetie, I guess you're right," Duncan agreed. "My friends have been great for her, well, maybe everyone except Dick."

Eva chuckled as Duncan attempted to maintain a straight face.

Meanwhile Lily had almost reached the parking lot at Neptune High. She continued down the road then turned into the lot, quickly swung into a spot, then jumped out of the car. She quickly spotted Liam leaning against his Porsche, talking to Jim and Chris.

"Liam!" Lily explained, full of energy and excitement since waking up after her dream.

She ran down the pavement and threw her arms around him and kissed him.

"Good morning," Liam said in amusement, setting her down. "It's nice to see you too."

"It is a good morning, a wonderful morning, I feel like I could sing. In fact, I just might," Lily said delightedly. Then she launched into _Oh What a Beautiful Morning!_.

Liam let out a booming laugh and pulled Lily into his arms, who stopped singing.

"What are you going on about? Did someone spike your smoothie this morning?" Liam asked in great amusement.

"Nope, I made my choice," Lily said softly, suddenly serious, but still happy.

"And?" Liam asked expectantly.

"I'm going to go to the University of California, Berkeley," Lily said with a broad grin.

Liam picked her up and swung her around excitedly. Chris and Jim decided at that moment that they weren't going to be involved in the conversation anymore, and left.

"I'm so happy for you babe!" Liam exclaimed, setting her down once more.

"You are?" Lily asked, wanting to be sure.

"Of course I am! I'd been prepared to move to the East Coast, so this is amazing," Liam said. "You're sure though? I mean, why did you choose Berkeley?"

"Berkeley gives me the best of everything, a quality education, I'll still be in California, close to home, you'll be close by. Really, I guess it was the only choice," Lily replied.

"No Ivy League?" Liam asked.

"No Ivy League," Lily affirmed. "Sure, Ivy League schools are prestigious, but so is Berkeley, and like I said, it's close to you, and close to home."

"How did you make up your mind in the end?" Liam asked, as he took her hand and they began to walk into the school.

"Funny story actually," Lily began. "Oh! Wait, my stuff is still in my car. I'll just get it, wait here!"

She walked towards her car quickly, grabbed her things and rejoined Liam.

"Now, where was I? Oh, right. I had a dream last night, that's how I decided. It's sounds strange I know, but I was trying to choose which school and then my mom was there, and we talked about it and everything began to make sense. When I woke up, I remembered it all, and it still made sense," Lily explained.

"That's some dream," Liam said with a whistle. "My dreams normally involve you naked, or you and me naked, or occasionally, me playing professional football."

Lily lightly elbowed him and said with a giggle, "Typical."

"Yeah, but you love me. Besides, if I didn't dream about those things, that would pretty much make me gay," Liam reasoned comically.

Lily gasped in mock horror and said, "Well, that really wouldn't be good!"

Liam grinned and said, "So, is my gorgeous and very smart girlfriend coming to watch me play baseball tomorrow afternoon?"

Lily pretended to think deeply, then said slowly, "I think I can manage that. I might bring a book though, in case I get bored."

"Brat," Liam replied, kissing her quickly. "I'll see you at lunch."

Lily smiled and they parted, each heading towards their first period classes.

**AN: Thanks for reading! Please review :)**

**Up next, prom!**


	36. Chapter 35 Long Live

**AN: A few things, I totally just finished writing this, like 30 seconds before I posted it! Another, Long Live is one of my favourite songs.**

**Also, thanks for all of the great reviews from last chapter! Thanks Nichole, Angel and Ali-cat (I continue to thank you here because I can't PM you!)**

Chapter 35 – Long Live

_Long live all the walls we crashed through, all the kingdom lights shined just for me and you_

"So, senior prom," Duncan said awkwardly. "Big night."

Duncan was sitting on the couch, he actually looked quite uncomfortable for someone who was sitting in his own home.

Liam was sitting on the next couch over, and he also looked mildly uncomfortable, compared to his usual stance of confidence.

Duncan and Liam usually got along fairly well when they spent time together, Lily tended to be close by when that happened though. Liam respected his girlfriend's father, and Duncan like his daughter's boyfriend well enough. As much as any father can like his only daughter's boyfriend.

The difference about the current situation was that it was prom night, and Duncan had been having particularly strong memories as to what prom night tended to entail. After all, he'd been a teenager once too.

"I guess so," Liam agreed. "I mean, it's really just another dance, but it's the last one too. We go to the dance, go to the after party, then go home."

"Yeah," Duncan said lamely. "See that you do."

Liam read the meaning in Duncan's words loud and clear.

He cleared his throat and said, "Yes, sir."

"Well, I guess Lily should be down soon. I'm sorry she's so late tonight, she's normally on time," Duncan said.

"I know, she's good like that. Waiting one time shouldn't kill me," Liam replied as cheerfully as he could. He had a slight inkling that Duncan might have had thoughts about wanting him dead and gone.

"So, Lily mentioned you guys are having a good baseball season. I didn't know were good at baseball as well as football," Duncan remarked.

"Yeah, we're looking good to win the championship at the moment," Liam replied. "I play baseball for fun, but football is my priority."

Both Duncan and Liam then shot longing looks upstairs, both wishing fervently that Lily would come downstairs and soon.

"I wonder what is taking them so long," Duncan muttered.

Duncan actually had an idea of what was taking so long. Veronica, Evelyn and Lily were all upstairs in Lily's room, helping her get ready. Seeing it was senior prom, Lily's last school dance, they'd become all sentimental and had been crying on and off. Duncan had been up there briefly, before Liam had arrived, and the tears, giggles and make-up had been overwhelming.

Back upstairs Lily was standing in front of her floor length mirror and Eva and Veronica were standing on either side of her.

"Sweetie, you look beautiful," Veronica-the-marshmallow said tearily.

"It's not like I'm getting married or anything," Lily replied, choking back her own tears.

"You really do look lovely," Eva agreed.

"I remember my senior prom, 'alterna-prom'," Veronica said, thinking back on that momentous occasion. "What a night."

"How so?" Lily asked, taking a careful seat on her desk chair.

Veronica and Eva resumed their seats on Lily's bed and Veronica replied, "I haven't told you about it? I thought I would have by now."

"Nope, so why was it called alterna-prom and why was it so great?" Lily asked.

Though Lily was ready, none of the women were conscious of the time, and the fact that Liam was waiting downstairs, so Veronica began her story.

"Well, our prom was cancelled, so Logan arranged to have his own, in his suite at the Grand, and he called it, 'alterna-prom'. It was supposed to be for the 09ers, but he invited me, we were trying to be friends again I suppose. Then I invited everyone else, and there you go, that was our prom. So everyone was there, the girls in pretty dresses, the boys in suits, there was alcohol everywhere. I wasn't exactly thrilled to be there, then Logan came over and started talking to me. He had a bottle of something in his hand and it was obvious he was already pretty smashed. But then he started saying something, about us being epic. Something to do with ruined lives and bloodshed, spanning across years. Then he tried to kiss me, so naturally I ran, fled actually. Then when I came back the next morning, ready to deal with what he'd said, another woman was in the hotel room. So I ran again. Obviously we did fix things after that, but that was my senior prom," Veronica recounted.

Eva and Lily had sat silently, listening to Veronica's condensed tale.

"Wow. I think I'll stick to a few slow dances and maybe a new crown for my senior prom," Lily finally said. "That's some story though. But I do think Uncle Logan was right, you two are epic."

"Yeah, I guess we are," Veronica agreed softly.

"Well my senior prom involved my date trying to feel me up, and my feet being sore at the end of the night," Eva added. "So somehow I think your night should top that Lily."

"Oh, right, my night!" Lily exclaimed. She glanced at the clock and gasped. "Oh my God. I am so late, Liam's been waiting for almost half an hour. Poor Liam, poor Daddy."

Lily got up as quickly as possible, mindful of her long dress.

"Where's my clutch?" Lily asked, a little frantically.

"Right here," Veronica replied, holding it up and smiling.

Lily took the large, silver clutch and checked herself one last time in the mirror.

"Right, I think I'm ready," she breathed.

"We'll go down ahead of you," Eva said, and she and Veronica walked out of the room.

Half way down the stairs they met a harassed looking Duncan.

"What the hell have you all been doing?" Duncan hissed.

"Oh, just getting ready," Eva vaguely replied.

"And talking," Veronica cheekily supplied.

"And she's coming down now, so scoot back to the living room," Eva ordered, gently prodding Duncan to make him descend the stairs.

The three adults quickly went into the living room, where Liam was still waiting.

"She just coming now. Sorry we took so long," Eva said kindly.

Lily was still upstairs though, looking at a picture of her mother. It was actually a picture of her mother and father, at a school dance together. She smiled fondly at it, then walked confidently out of her room.

_Long live all the mountains we moved, I had the time of my life, fighting dragons with you_

"Well, I'm finally ready!" Lily announced as she breezed into the room where the others were waiting.

Duncan and Liam both looked at Lily in awe. Duncan only saw his baby girl, who was now a beautiful young lady. Liam saw his girlfriend, looking more amazing than he'd ever seen.

Eva and Veronica just stood by, smiling fondly at Lily.

Duncan gathered his wits before Liam did.

"Sweetheart, you look beautiful. You look just like your mother. She would've loved to have been here tonight," Duncan said gently.

Lily smiled softly and said, "Thank you Daddy."

"Lily, I, you, um, you look amazing," Liam stuttered, once Duncan had finished talking to Lily.

Lily gave a light, tinkling laugh and said, "Thanks. You look pretty nice yourself."

"Oh! I brought you flowers. You said no corsage, so I brought flowers," Liam explained, turning around quickly to grab the flowers from where he'd set them down.

"Lilies, they're gorgeous, thank you," Lily said, taking the flowers, then giving Liam a light kiss.

Eva held out her hands and said, "I'll go find a vase and put them in water."

Lily handed the bunch of white lilies to Eva, and she disappeared off towards the kitchen.

"So, we're marvellously late already, shall we go?" Lily asked, holding out her hand to Liam.

"Sure, the limos waiting out the front," Liam replied.

"Wait!" Veronica exclaimed. "I need at least one photo!"

"Of course," Lily allowed. "We'll pose for a maximum of five minutes."

Lily and Liam stood over in front of the drapes, they worked as a nice, cream backdrop.

Liam was wearing nicely cut black suit, with a white shirt and a smoky blue tie. The could have been seen as an odd choice, but it was that colour so that it would match Lily's dress.

Lily's dress was a Dolce and Gabanna creation of smoky blue lace and satin. It had a darker, satin underlining with a sheer lace overlay. The lace overlay had short sleeves that stopped a little above Lily's elbows. The neckline had a modest V neckline, which Lily's 'L' necklace rested in the middle of. The dress just grazed the floor, so that when she walked a pair of nude pumps were visible. The diamond bracelet Liam had given to her for Valentine's Day was on her wrist, and she wore a simple pair of drop pendant diamonds. These were easily noticeable due to the updo Lily was sporting. Her hair was teased up high from her forehead on the top of her head, then the rest of her hair was pinned up at the back, styled into a mass of curls.

Lily and Liam stood in a variety of poses, Liam with his arm around her waist, the two of them hugging, a brief kiss, and then they were off.

Their ride to the school was brief and they made their way inside fairly quickly, seeing as they were on the late side.

Inside, they found their friends sitting around two large tables, all talking. Other people were also at tables, while some were dancing.

"Where were you two? Did you get detained in the limo?" Mia asked with a giggle.

"Nope, I just took forever to get ready," Lily replied. "I'm never late, so I figured I should be for at least one dance."

"Nice theory, Lil, but we've all been waiting for you two for forty-five minutes," Keira replied.

"Sorry, we got all nostalgic, tears, memories and such," Lily explained. "Besides, you didn't need to wait for us, you could've gone danced or something."

"Yeah, but we thought we'd wait for you anyway. And someone would always be like, 'Let's just wait another five minutes', so we did. Besides, we all just talked," Mia said cheerfully.

"Well, I'm going to dance now, so I suggest you find your boyfriends and do the same," Lily announced.

Lily walked over to Liam and said, "Dance with me?"

"At senior prom? Of course," Liam replied, taking her hand and leading her out to join the couples who were dancing on the floor.

Some time later on the floor they shared as they shared a low dance together, they found a moment to talk.

"You know, I don't know if I've actually told you how perfectly beautiful you look tonight," Liam said in a husky voice. "I mean, you always look great, but you just take my breath away tonight."

"You might've mentioned something about it before, but thank you again," Lily said, a light blush colouring her cheeks prettily.

"Is that why you took so long upstairs? Getting ready? You were up there for simply ages," Liam remarked.

"No, mostly we were telling stories, remembering things, then crying, so we'd have to keep redoing parts of my make-up. Then there would be some giggling, then some more stories and crying," Lily summarised.

"You put your dad and me through half an hour of awkwardness, for girl time?" Liam asked incredulously, though he was amused.

"Yes, you poor baby. I'm glad to see you survived though," Lily said impishly.

"And what would you do if I hadn't survived?" Liam asked.

Suddenly serious, Lily answered, "I don't know what I'd do if you were gone. Really. Sometimes it shocks me how much I love you. I'd never imagined that my senior year would've turned out the way it has, but I now, I wouldn't have had it any other way."

Liam smiled down at her lovingly. "Well don't worry, I'm not planning on going anywhere. But you know, this is exactly how I imagined my senior year turning out. Getting you to love me, I always planned on that, and slow dancing with you now, was definitely in my plans," Liam told her with a grin.

"You've always been awfully sure of yourself, haven't you?" Lily asked, grinning indulgently.

Liam suppressed a smirk and said, "Yes, always. Apparently I was born like this. And I mean, why change perfection?"

"You're absolutely irrepressible," Lily said, amused. Then she snuggled further into his arms and rested her head on his shoulder, as they continued to sway slowly.

_We were the kings and the queens, and they read off our names, the night we danced like you knew our lives would never be the same_

Later in the evening, Lily, Sophie and Mia were sitting at their table. Their feet were tired, so they were sitting and talking while the boys got them new drinks.

"Hey, look, I think it's about that time," Sophie remarked.

"What time?" Lily asked.

Mia, noticing the mild commotion near the stage where the band was playing said, "Time to crown prom king and queen."

Mr Clemmons took his place on the stage as the band stopped playing.

"Students, would you please gather in front of the stage. It's time to announce prom king and queen," Clemmons announced.

"Quick, let me check your hair and make-up," Sophie said, touching Lily's arm lightly to stop her in her tracks.

"Guys, it's not actually certain I'll get it," Lily protested.

"Yeah, it kind of is," Mia replied. "Pretty much everyone I spoke to voted for you."

"Me too," Sophie agreed. "I mean, I voted for you, and so did everyone else."

"Oh, okay. Well then. At least I've had plenty of practice at this," Lily replied. "Do you know who people voted for, for king?"

"There was quite a mix actually," Mia answered. "I've heard Liam, Scott, Ethan and Harry actually."

"But Liam seems to be ahead," Sophie added.

The girls moved in with the rest of the crowd on the dance floor and Lily found Liam and slipped her hand into his.

"Show time," he whispered.

She smiled back at him.

"This year's prom king, by one vote, is Liam Armistead," Principal Clemmons announced.

Liam looked mildly shocked that he'd almost not been crowned king, but walked up onto the stage, oozing confidence.

Clemmons handed Liam his crown then turned back to the microphone.

"And your queen is, Lily Kane," Clemmons said, in almost a bored tone. It never failed to astound him. Year after year, the study body chose their favourite pretty, and generally wealthy girl, to be the prom queen. They tended to pick the same boy every year too. The behaviour of his students often gave Clemmons cause for concern, this however he didn't dwell over.

Amidst the clapping and cheering Lily was given her crown and she smiled down at the rest of the students.

"And now there will be the usual dance," Clemmons instructed, before leaving the stage.

Lily and Liam followed him off the stage, holding hands.

"Wow, we're actually going to have one of these dances where you don't hate me," Liam said gleefully.

"Well, I can't believe I almost missed out on having this dance with you," Lily said dryly. "One vote Liam."

"Oh well, I guess they almost succeeded in staging an upset and being original," Liam replied, unperturbed. "But really, they love me. And they all love you, but not as much as I do."

_Take My Breath Away_ by Berlin started playing and Liam took Lily in his arms and they started to slow dance. It wasn't a formal waltz, not like they were both capable of, but it was a little more than the typical swaying, shuffling slow dancing most teens did.

"It's the perfect song," Liam said. "I said it before, but you really do take my breath away."

Lily smiled wanly then said, "Everything's going to be different after this, isn't it?"

"Well, I guess so. I mean there's still finals, and graduation and the baseball championship, but yeah, we're going to college next fall babe," Liam replied.

"My life was always full of change, moving around, different governesses, I couldn't go to real school. And then I came here, to Neptune, and everything's been wonderful. The dream high school career, and now it's all going to change," Lily said forlornly.

"Hey! Don't get all sad on me now. It's not a sad time, it's a happy time," Liam informed her. "And the most important things won't change, I still love you, we'll still be together, and you'll still see your family and everyone else often. Plus, before all that, we've got summer. So cheer up."

Lily nodded, and concentrated on the way she felt, being held in Liam's strong arms, the way he skilfully danced with her. The happiness that his infectious grin gave her.

It was right about that moment that a piercing shriek was heard.

People stopped dancing, Lily and Liam stopped dancing.

"That was Melanie. Look, they're all over there. Something's wrong," Lily said in concern.

The music had now stopped and there was the buzzing and murmuring of people wondering what was going on.

Lily and Liam raced up the back of the room to where Melanie was still screaming and half-sobbing.

Keira was on her mobile, Mia had her head buried in Jim's arms and Sophie was on the ground, shaking and convulsing.

Chris, Ethan and Scott were all watching on in shock. Michael was looking around frantically, unsure of how to comfort his girlfriend.

"Dude, what happened?" Liam asked Chris urgently.

"She just collapsed, and started doing that," Chris answered shakily, pointing at his girlfriend.

Meanwhile Lily yelled to Michael, "Do something with Mellie! She can't keep that up!"

Then she dropped to the ground in her evening gown and tried to see if she could determine anything about what was happening to Sophie. She'd once or twice seen her dad have fits due to his epilepsy, and thought Sophie looked like she was having an epileptic fit.

At this point Principal Clemmons reached them, and Keira got off the phone.

"I just spoke to 911, they're on their way," she informed Clemmons.

He nodded then said to the other students who had gathered close, watching on with interest, "Everyone, get back! Go to your own tables, and if they're too close by, congregate down by the stage. I'll give you more instructions as soon as I can."

Only a few minutes later wailing sirens could be heard and the paramedics rushed into the room.

Sophie friends stood back as she was attended to. They checked her over, stabilised her, then strapped her onto a stretcher.

"Is there anyone to go with her?" one of them asked to the group in general.

"Go with her, she'll want you there," Lily instructed Chris.

He nodded shakily, then looking very pale, he followed the paramedics outside to the ambulance.

"Well, I think tonight might be over," Jim remarked, looking around at their stunned group.

Lily gave him a withering look.

"I think prom's over for us, but the night is far from over. I don't know about you, but I'll be heading to the hospital now," Lily said.

With that she took Liam's hand, collected her things and they quickly left the room, followed by the rest of their friends.

**AN: Well, there you have it!** **Two chapters left now!**

**Please review :)**


	37. Chapter 36 Opposite of Adults

**AN: Here's the second last chapter! Thanks for the reviews from last chapter, (thanks Ali-cat!)**

Chapter 36 – Opposite of Adults

_Remember you was a kid, reminisce, days of the innocence_

The second Sunday of May found Lily jouncing Aubrey on her lap at the Mars home. Owing to the various disjointed family situations among the Kane, Echolls, Casablancas and Mars families, they all tended to spend the holidays together, and Mother's Day was no exception, in fact it was more important, owing to the legacies of Lianne Mars, Celeste Kane, Lynn Echolls and Betina Casablancas.

The prom had been on the first Saturday of May, just over a week ago. Lily thought back to the night with a shudder.

**Flashback**

Lily and Liam raced into the emergency room of the hospital, the fine lace of Lily's dress swishing at her ankles. She nervously smoothed down the already form fitting dress.

"I hate how familiar this place has become," Lily muttered.

"Well at least some good stuff happens here, like babies being born," Liam said, trying lift her spirits.

They sat down in the waiting room, and were joined shortly by the other 09er couples. They were an interesting looking group of teenagers. They were all dressed in exquisite designer clothing, the sum total of their outfits would have easily cost more than the furnishings in the room. In saying that, the hospital was fairly well furnished, it was Neptune after all.

As they all sat there, they became more and more stressed, and more and more nervous. Most of the girls has smudged make-up, but they didn't even care. The boy's ties had long been undone and their shirts were no longer tucked in. Several pairs designer heels lay on the shiny hospital floor.

At some point Sophie parent's arrived, and a nurse appeared and took them away. Once they'd arrived Chris came out of Sophie's room and joined his friends in the waiting room. He couldn't tell them anything.

Lily fervently wished that Amanda had been on duty, she would've been sent out to tell them something. Being wealthy and famous had it's perks. However, Amanda was at home and on maternity leave, she wouldn't be back at work for quite some time.

After a time a nurse appeared and said, "The doctor will be out to speak with you all shortly."

Hence, the doctor came out from a hall way several minutes later. Sophie's parents, Mr and Mrs Turner followed him. Mrs Turner looked particularly shaken.

The 09er teenagers all sat up straight in their chairs, waiting to hear what had happened to Sophie.

"Well, your friend appears to have had some sort of seizure. We can't yet determine what caused it, but we are running tests and should know within the next few days. She's stabilised for now, and there will be no lasting side effects from the seizure. There really won't be anything more to tell you until morning, so I suggest you all go home. You can see Sophie in ones and twos during visiting hours tomorrow," the doctor explained. Then he turned and left, his responsibility fulfilled.

Once the doctor's news had been delivered there had been a collective sigh of relief.

They all stood slowly, one by one.

"Come on babe, let's get you home," said Liam, his voice tired.

Lily leaned into his side as they walked out to the parking lot.

"Oh, how are we getting home? The limo dropped us here," Lily said forlornly. She was tired and emotionally exhausted, so the lack of transportation posed an enormous problem in her mind.

"Don't worry, I'll call a cab," Liam said quickly, pulling out his cell phone.

It was 3 a.m. when the cab dropped Lily at her house. She paused inside the vehicle to say a quick good night. Glancing at the darkened windows of her house, she chuckled.

"What?" Liam asked, bemused.

"Oh I was just thinking, at least Daddy won't have been worrying about me tonight. He sounded so relieved when he found out we weren't going to an after party, but to the hospital," Lily explained. "I mean, of course he was concerned about Sophie too. Oh, I'm too tired. You know what I mean."

"I know what you mean," Liam replied, kissing her softly. "I love you, I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah," Lily agreed gently, then she slipped out of the cab and walked towards her house.

She lifted her skirt up a bit as she climbed the stairs. She censor light flickered on and she dropped her skirt to fish in her clutch for her house keys. She found them and let herself inside, longing for the cool comfort of her bed.

**Flashback**

"Oh I miss the days when things were simple, where I played in the sand and ate dirt," Lily said softly to Aubrey, who merely gurgled in response. "You've got your whole life ahead of you cutie, and I can't wait to watch you grow up."

Aubrey let out a delighted shriek at this, causing Lily to grin broadly.

"Here are two of my most favourite, beautiful girls," Keith Mars boomed, walking over to Lily and Aubrey.

"Grandpa Mars," Lily returned, still smiling. "What's up?"

Some time ago Keith had convinced Lily that calling him Grandpa Mars was preferable to calling him Sheriff Mars. Seeing as he was Grandpa Mars to Justin and Aubrey it was more simple for them, if Lily called him that too.

"Just thought I'd come and steal my granddaughter from you, and have a chat," Keith replied. "We haven't seen you for so long!"

"I know, I'm sorry about that. Things have been so busy, and they're finally about to slow down, I think. Finals start tomorrow, then I graduate, then finally I'll be fancy free for the summer," Lily said, thinking longingly of the long hot days of summer that were to come.

"Veronica said you're going to Berkeley in the fall, and that you were accepted to a couple of other great schools. Alicia and I were really proud to hear that," Keith told her affectionately.

"Thanks Grandpa Mars. I guess that's all I wanted really, to make the people I love proud," Lily replied.

"That's a fine aspiration, one I wish all of the kids around here had. It would sure make my job much easier," Keith said seriously.

"You do a great job, and we all know it," Lily said firmly. "Oh! Aunt Mac's just come out with James, he must've just woken up. Do you mind if I go see him?"

"Off you go," Keith instructed cheerfully. He turned his own attentions fully on his little, blonde granddaughter. His own daughter joined him just as Lily reached where Mac had sat down with James.

Lily sat down next to Mac and said, "Oh look at him, all sleepy after just waking up."

"Do you want to hold him?" Mac offered, knowing Lily always wanted to hold the various babies and toddlers on offer.

"Is that alright?" Lily asked in conformation.

"Sure, I'll be feeding him in about ten minutes, so get a cuddle while you can," Mac answered.

"Hi James," Lily cooed. "Did you know that you were a month old yesterday? Yes, that's right. And today is your mom's first Mother's Day with you. That's why we're all here, all your crazy, lovable extended family. It's Mother's Day, and we always spend part of it together, the same with all the holidays."

James just opened his still blue eyes in response.

"Do you think his eyes will stay blue?" Lily asked Mac.

"I don't think so. He's got my brown hair, so I suspect his eyes will go brown or hazel. Caroline has Dick's colouring, so I guess it's only fair that James gets mine," Mac replied.

"I can't wait to have my own babies, that have some of my features," Lily said wistfully.

"It's Mother's Day, so of course it makes you think more about having your own children. The time will come before you know it, and especially before your father is ready," Mac said with a chuckle.

Lily laughed in agreement and returned to focusing her energy on spending time with those she loved, instead of freaking out about her finals.

_Can I please get a little bit of knowledge_

The afternoon spent with her family and friends did distract Lily from the stress of finals, but when she was at home in her room at the end of the day she started to stress. She'd worked hard all year, all high school in fact, and she was a good student, a very good student, but she was still stressed. She needed to maintain her current high GPA or it could affect her position at Berkeley.

Once in bed Lily tried to thinking calming thoughts, and focused on the sound of the rolling waves. They helped ease her to sleep, but it was a light, restless sleep, and when she woke up the next morning she didn't feel overly refreshed.

She woke up well in time to get ready for school, and fidgeted a little with nervous energy. Once she arrived at school she sat down and looked over her notes for her first final, English.

"Hey babe," Liam greeted her, kissing her cheek and sitting down next to her.

"Hi," Lily replied distractedly.

"What are you looking at?" Liam asked.

"English notes," Lily answered shortly.

"Calm down Lily, you're going to do fine, you always do," Liam told her.

"I always do well because I work hard, if I stop working hard I won't do well," Lily retorted.

"Well I don't know about that, but you've done heaps of hard work already. Just chill, it will do you some good," Liam said gently.

Lily let out a big breath and tried to smile genuinely. "Okay, I'll calm down. How's your study been going? Is your GPA going to survive finals?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Liam said confidently.

"Well, I sure hope so," Lily said ominously.

Liam chuckled and said, "You're kind of cute when you're all grumpy about exams."

Lily glared a little at him, then noticed Sophie walking towards them with Mia.

Lily waved them over and called, "Come sit with us!"

"You bet!" Mia called back, and they continued over to them and sat down.

"Hey Soph, how's the study been going?" Lily asked gently.

They had all tried not to focus too much on Sophie's health, she didn't like it and she just wanted to be treated like normal.

"Awfully," Sophie groaned. "I read something, then I forget is straight away! It's always been that way, even with all the tutors I've had. I always just scrape through things."

"Well, that's all you need," Mia said cheerfully. "It's all we really need. Well, those two need decent marks for their hot shot schools, but San Diego will take us as we are, beautiful and not brainy."

"Thank God for that," Sophie said with a giggle. "Come on, we'd all best get to our lockers."

To their lockers they went, then to their classes, and they say their various finals.

Throughout the next few days the senior stewed and stressed, studied, procrastinated, cursed the very existence of school and exams, and longed to finish school and for the long hot days of summer to arrive.

On Tuesday afternoon the warm spring sun was very tempting to all the seniors who were inside, studying. Lily looked longing at the sun, the sand, and the blue-green ocean. So she went into her closet, put on her patterned triangle bikini. Then she grabbed a large pair of sunglasses, a floppy straw hat and her book bag. On her way out to the beach she picked up a towel and tucked it into the top of her book bag. She couldn't go and laze on the beach, but studying on the beach in the sun was a good compromise.

She had three finals left, one each day of the week. Chemistry, History and Trigonometry. Trigonometry involved memorising a whole bunch of formulas. History meant knowing dozens of dates, and Chemistry, well it just meant knowing a whole lot of things, formulas and theory.

So Lily lay on her towel on the beach, diligently studying the material, pausing every now and again to change positions, or to have a short break to look at the waves.

As the sun began to dip low on the horizon Lily gave up on her study session. She grabbed her cell phone and dialled Keira's number.

"Hey Lily," Keira greeted her.

"Hey," Lily replied. "So, what are you doing?"

"Staring at my wall. What are you doing?" Keira asked in return.

"Lying on the beach, surrounding by masses of study notes," Lily answered. "I just can't study anymore, my mind is numb."

"Me neither, that's why I'm staring at my wall," Keira replied.

They both giggled then and Lily said, "I thought that might be the case, then again, you're nuts anyway."

"Thanks very much," Keira retorted.

"Anyway, want to come have a quick swim, then stay for dinner? Our parents won't care, we've been swotting for ages, if we don't have a break now we'll probably break down tomorrow," Lily reasoned.

"Sure! Every time I've looked out of the window today I've died a little bit inside. It's gorgeous weather. I'll throw on my bikini and be right over," Keira replied.

"Great! See you in a bit. Just meet me on the beach out the back," Lily returned.

Presently, Keira joined Lily on the beach and they both ran down into the waves. The water was just warm enough not to be unpleasant and they swam around lightly and splashed in the waves.

As they got out and began to walk back up the sand towards their towels someone wolf whistled at them.

Lily and Keira had been talking to one another, but their heads snapped up to look for the source of the whistling.

A tall, tanned, topless, blonde haired guy was a bit further up the beach from them, and was clearly watching them and walking towards them.

"Who is **he**?" Keira asked Lily in a hushed tone.

"Beats me," Lily replied.

"It's your beach," Keira retorted.

"Well, I don't actually own the beach, and I don't know everyone who lives here," Lily replied.

"Looking good ladies," the tanned young man said.

"And who might you be?" Lily asked tartly, as if she did in fact own the whole beach.

He looked slightly taken aback at this question, as if it wasn't one he was use to hearing.

"I'm Brandon Keating, and who are you lovely ladies?" Brandon replied.

"Oh!" Keira exclaimed. "I thought I recognised you. You play that new intern on _General Hospital_, my mom watches it almost religiously."

Brandon smirked and said, "Yeah, that would be me. But you still haven't told me who you two are. I think it's appropriate, seeing as we're neighbours now."

"I'm Keira Anderson, but I don't live here, I live a few street away," Keira supplied. She hadn't intended on being so friendly to the arrogant new comer, but his good looks, slightly abrasive charm, and fame had got the better of her.

"I live here, I'm Lily Kane, the granddaughter of Jake Kane, of Kane Industries," Lily said, sounding particularly snooty.

"Well, it's nice to meet you both, and I hope to be seeing quite a bit more of you both," Brandon said with a leer.

"We're charmed I'm sure," Lily said, before Keira could reply with something nice. "But we need to be going now, dinner and study for finals and whatnot are waiting."

"Or I could come with you," Brandon suggested boldly. "What classes are you taking at college?"

"They're our senior year finals, we're in high school," Lily informed him coolly. "And I don't think my father would overly appreciate your half naked presence at the dining table. Besides, I think he's well familiar with your type. This is Neptune after all."

"That sounds like a challenge," Brandon said, walking with them to their towels.

"It's not, it was more like a fact, and a warning," Lily said.

Keira looked rather crestfallen at Lily's treatment of the newcomer. The fact was however, Lily's rejection made Brandon all the more enthusiastic.

"Well, thanks for the warning, but I think I'll be alright," Brandon replied, unperturbed.

Pulling out one last card Lily said, "Well, my father's best friend is Logan Echolls. Perhaps you've heard of him? He's the only son of Aaron Echolls, who murdered my aunt. Yes, things are very complex down here at times, just another warning there. Anyway, Uncle Logan is rather protective of me you see, and he is more than familiar of your type, because he was your type. So with that, we'll be off. Lovely meeting you, goodbye."

With a tight smile Lily turned for her house, motioning for Keira to follow her.

Keira looked apologetically at Brandon and followed Lily back to her house.

_Hey yo I once was a kid, all I had was a dream_

Lily and Liam walked out of their last final, Trigonometry, together on Friday afternoon.

Liam let out a loud whoop and threw his notes up into the air and they came fluttering down to the ground around them.

Lily laughed delightedly and exclaimed, "Liam! You big idiot!"

Liam was not bothered, and instead picked her up, kissed her soundly, swung her around then said, "We're done babe, forever, high school is over!"

Lily grinned at his exuberance and said, "Well, I'm not sorry that finals are over, but high school has actually been pretty good, my love."

"I know, it's just, freedom feels so good!" Liam crowed.

"We're not free yet, we've still got to graduate next week," Lily reminded him.

"Yeah, but that'll be easy, and fun," Liam returned. "You'll wear a pretty dress, we'll all get our diplomas, there'll be a hell of a party, we'll all get awesome graduation presents, then it'll be summer."

"Well, yes, that'll all be great, but we also will get our final results back," Lily added.

"Babe, nothing can bring me down, so get happy!" Liam instructed exuberantly. "We can do anything we want. In fact, we should do something tonight."

"We **are** doing something tonight, remember? Mia's throwing a beach party? To celebrate the end of finals? With that big talk you just gave I can't believe you forgot it," Lily said laughingly.

"Oh yeah, that. Well, let's go to that, spend some quality time in my car, then I'll drop you home," Liam suggested.

"My, my, I'm just blown away by your gallantness," Lily teased. "That sounds great though, pick me up at 8?"

"Sure," Liam agreed.

"Okay, well I'll see you then," Lily said, moving towards her own car.

"Hey, where are you going? Why can't we hang out now?" Liam asked.

"Getting my nails done with the girls!" Lily called back cheerfully. "See you at 8!"

Lily was running slightly late to meet the girls at the salon, she'd had the last final, except for Melanie who was in Lily's Trig class. Melanie had left the exam earlier than Lily though, giving it up as a lost cause.

Lily noticed all her friend's cars in the lot as she pulled in and gathered her purse and scurried towards the salon as fast as was ladylike.

As she entered through the salon door someone almost knocked her over. A pair of strong arms steadied her and she looked to find Brandon Keating.

"Well, you're always popping up in unwelcome places," she said, irked.

He chuckled and said, "Nice to see you again Lily Kane."

"I'm sure," Lily said briskly. "We'll have to chat later, as I'm running late."

Brandon chuckled again and let Lily enter the salon. He watched her briefly then went to find his car and leave.

Inside the salon Lily sat down in the last chair in a line of five, Sophie was seated closest to her, and Mia, Melanie and Keira were all seated too.

"Was that Brandon Keating you were talking to?" Sophie asked. "Keira mentioned he moved in next door, but I hardly believed it!"

"You'd better believe it," Lily said dryly. "He's kind of hard to ignore, or so I'm finding. I wonder what the hell he was doing in here?"

"People come in here for all sorts of things," Melanie answered. "Massages, tinting, waxing, laser hair removal, tanning, a whole bunch of beauty treatments that he might have been having out the back. He is from Hollywood after all."

"Indeed," Lily muttered. "Idiot almost knocked me over onto the ground as he was leaving and I was arriving."

"Lil, I couldn't believe how mean you were to him on the beach, and you didn't look like you were being nice then," Keira reprimanded.

"And I can't believe how flirty and open you were with him Keira," Lily retorted. "You have a boyfriend."

"And so do you, I didn't notice you telling him that," Keira countered.

"Why would I tell him that? It's like saying, 'I can tell you're interested in me, so I'll let you down gently now', and that would be so cocksure of me. Any guy is interested in a girl in a bikini," Lily replied.

"Any hot girl, fat girls are a turn off," Mia supplied helpfully.

"This is some high quality chat," Melanie said in amusement.

"Well, I think he is interested in you," Keira persisted. "And maybe I laid it on too thick. Just because we live in Neptune doesn't make me immune to the charms of hot, topless, actors."

"Oh, you're right," Lily conceded. "Shit, I was a bit of a bitch, wasn't I? He just annoyed me though, the way he looked at me. Oh well, I guess things will be interesting, and I'll try to be nicer. I doubt Liam will be at all nice though."

The girls laughed in agreement and began to talk about their plans for the next week and the summer.

**AN: Thanks for reading, please review :)**


	38. Chapter 37 I Was Here

**AN: I'm writing this just as I'm about to start this last chapter, and I feel all teary! I love this song (everyone listen to it, Beyonce rocks it, but I also adore Lea Michele's Glee cover), and it's the title of this fic, this was where I wanted to get to when I started writing this, and here we are. Some unexpected things happened along the way, but I'm quite pleased with how everything turned out.**

**Thank you so much, all of you, for reading, reviewing, alerting and favouriting. I really appreciate your support!**

**Thanks Melissa, Angel and Nichole for your reviews! Melissa (and everyone else), yes there will be a sequel, I'm working on it now :)**

**Oh, and fear not everyone, Brandon is not the start of a new love triangle! **

**Also, this is a pretty long chapter. I thought I should finish this story of with a detailed bang! The long author's note hasn't helped matters either…**

Chapter 37 – I Was Here

_I wanna leave, my footprints, on the sands of time, know there was something that, meant something that I left behind, when I leave this world, I'll leave no regrets, leave something to remember so they won't forget, I was here_

On the morning of graduation Lily woke up early, she was too excited to sleep on until her alarm sounded.

The sun was already rising, it rose earlier and earlier every morning, and summer was almost upon them. It's glowing, orange light filtered through Lily's drapes and invited her to open them and look out at the view.

"It going to be a beautiful day," Lily said quietly, surveying the beach and surrounding area.

She slipped into her closet and pulled on a pair of denim shorts and a light sweater. Back in her room she looked contemplatively at her cell phone, but decided to leave it where it was. She'd have a morning walk on the beach, free from distractions.

She walked quietly downstairs and left a note on the kitchen bench, just in case she was missed.

Lily walked out onto the beach, barefoot, for who really wanted or needed shoes when walking on the beach.

She glanced briefly at the house she knew belonged to Brandon and hoped fervently that he was a late sleeper, or better still, that he was away filming something or other.

Lily walked along, enjoying the feeling of the sand between her toes, and the sun warming her face. A very light breeze blew pleasantly and Lily sighed contentedly. Their finals had been marked, her GPA remained very high, in fact, she stood second in their entire senior year. She would go to Berkeley in the fall.

Lily was looking forward to college, and the new and exciting experiences it would bring. She didn't have any idea what major she would choose, but there were plenty of classes she could take before she had to decide that. Liam would be not quite an hour's drive away and they would have plenty of time to spend with one another. She'd be able to watch most of his football games, they would go to movies and parties and not have to worry about reporting back to parents. She'd make new friends, keep in touch with her old friends. Yes, the changes the fall promised to bring were many and exciting.

Before the fall there would be a long, hot summer, filled with a lot of fun. Aubrey would turn one, Caroline would turn two, Amanda and Wallace would welcome a little girl into their family. There would be parties, and days on the beach, there would be trips to Mexico, there would be shopping and pampering.

Lily sat down in the sand to watch the sun continue to rise higher in the sky over the rolling blue waves of the ocean. Lily hadn't planned a morning walk for graduation day, but the quiet of the morning had given her an unexpectedly nice time to think about the future.

She then began to think about the past, about her senior year. At the beginning of senior year she'd foreseen a year filled with fun, and she had had fun, but there had been many other elements too, and things had definitely not happened as she'd imagined. She'd started the off as Scott Hunter's girlfriend and now she was Liam Armistead's girlfriend, and she use to hate him. She'd gone through the pain of Eva losing a baby, and the horror of watching Sophie lying on the floor at prom, convulsing. She'd cheered the football team on to win their championship game, she'd watched Liam, Harry and the others win a baseball championship. She'd been Homecoming queen, prom queen, she'd had fun with her friends. Some parts of the year had been harder than others, but in the end, Lily concluded, she didn't regret any of it. The things that had happened had helped to shape who she was, and she wouldn't change that.

Today was graduation day, and she was ready to for it. She's miss school but she didn't feel like there was anything that she'd missed out on and needed to stay to experience. College was her next adventure.

She got up off the sand and walked back up the beach towards her house, very thankful that Brandon had not made an appearance. Very little would spoil the day for he, and he was on that short list of things that would mar the day.

Back in the house Lily found Duncan drinking coffee in the kitchen.

"I'll just go and dress and be down for breakfast," Lily told him, kissing his cheek.

"Sure," Duncan replied. "You might want to check on Eva too, please. I left her to get dressed about twenty minutes ago and she hasn't appeared get. I'm afraid she might be staring at the contents of her closet still."

Lily giggled and quickly went upstairs. She stuck her head in the Duncan and Eva's room and called, "Eva! Are you in here?"

"I'm in my closet," Eva said forlornly. "Come in."

Lily found her standing in her closet, wearing only a bathrobe, and looking at the clothes.

"I just don't know what to wear," Eva said, explaining her actions. "There's no manual for knowing what you wear to your step-daughter's high school graduation, especially when you're married to her billionaire father. I guess I'm your mother figure in a way, and I don't know what all those other mothers will be wearing."

Lily smiled gently and said, "It's perfectly lovely of you to be in a dither about this, but you don't need to be. Having you there is all I want, but I will pick out your clothes for you, if you like."

"Yes, please!" Eva exclaimed gratefully.

"Each 09er lady has their own style," Lily began, looking through Eva's clothes, many that she herself had chosen or bought. "You've got the women who wear the designer suits, then the women in pencil skirt, the women who try to dress like they're still teenagers, you get the ones who wear floral. The key to dressing successfully as a new 09er is to wear what you normally would, but buy something that has a few extra zeros on the price tag. I've told you all this before, you just keep forgetting!"

Lily selected a lightweight, cream pair of tailored Burberry pants to wear with a short sleeved, pale pink, ruffles Chantilly lace Oscar de la Renta blouse.

Lily handed the selections to Eva and said, "There, you'll look young and pretty and wealthy. Wear those nude Chanel pumps with them. I'd better go get dressed now too, I'll see you in the kitchen for breakfast!"

Lily dashed off to her own room and grabbed her dress off it's hanger. She'd bought several new dresses the week before, and had finally settled on this one the night before.

The dress was made of blush pink silk-chiffon, with ruffled cap sleeves, and ruffles at the waist. An embellished, braided belt also decorated the waist. The light, pretty Mui Mui dress fell just above Lily's knee, and had a semi-plunging neckline. It was fashionable and appealing, but appropriate for graduation. It would spend quite some time hidden under her cap and gown anyway. Her shoes wouldn't though, and Lily was particularly fond of the metallic gold Jimmy Choos she was wearing with her dress. They were strappy, very high and all together gorgeous.

Once dress Lily put all her jewellery on, then she looked in the mirror. She'd already applied light and tasteful make-up, but there was still the matter of her hair. She could leave it down, or pull it back stylishly. In the end she pulled part of it back with a pretty hair piece.

Glancing at the clock she realised she needed to get downstairs quickly and drink her preferred smoothie for breakfast.

Eva was in the kitchen, looking calm, collected and was dressed in the clothes Lily had chosen. Duncan had also dressed in a suit, he had to go to the office after the graduation ceremony.

"Well, I think we all look great," Lily said cheerfully.

"Yes, we'd better get a photo at some point. It is a momentous day after all," Duncan said proudly.

"I'm sure there will be millions of photos taken," Lily said dryly. "I bet you've already reminded Aunt Veronica to bring her camera, at least twice."

Duncan smiled sheepishly.

"You know, I think you might have the most amount of people coming to watch you graduate in the history of ever," Eva remarked.

"It's part of being Lily Kane," she said impishly. "Well, I'd better be off, I've got a quick stop to make before I get to school. I'll see you there, during or after the ceremony."

"Okay sweetie, and I know you've been dying to ask, so I'll tell you," Duncan began. "You can have your graduation present, after you graduate."

_I was here, I lived, I loved_

Lily drove the familiar route to the Neptune cemetery. She was cutting it fine for time, but she wanted to visit her mom on graduation day, and it made most sense to go before the graduation ceremony.

When she arrived, she walked carefully across the grass to her mother's grave, she didn't want her stilettos to sink into the ground.

"Hi Mommy," Lily said gently, using the term usually used by small children. "I'm graduating high school today, and it didn't make sense for me not to come and talk to you, at least quickly. I know you didn't get to graduate, you barely made it to senior year, but I hope I've made you proud. I wish you were going to be there today, watching me walk across that stage and get my diploma, but I know that you'll at least be watching over me, and I'll be thinking of you. I love you."

Lily left a bunch of daisies on her mother's grave and walked quickly back to her car. She then drove as safely as possible towards Neptune High. As she drove she thought about the irony of her conversations with her mother. She had no recollection of her mother, and Meg had died before she'd had a chance to actually even hold her daughter, and yet, Lily made trips to her grave and talked to her, like she knew her.

But she did know her, all her life she'd been told things about her mother, so much and so often it was like she did know her. Even though Meg hadn't been alive to see Lily grow up, and help her along the way, she'd still helped to mould Lily's life through what Lily had been taught about her.

Lily pulled into the mostly full parking lot, got out of her car and locked it. She could see that the lunch area was filled with seniors, most who had donned the usual green cap and gown that had been given to them upon their arrival at school.

Lily found a teacher, was handed her plastic bag containing her cap and gown and walked over to where her friends were sitting at their usual lunch tables.

"We thought you were going to be late, Lily!" Sophie exclaimed upon Lily joining them.

"Me, miss graduating? With all of you? Never!" Lily returned cheerfully.

Liam pulled Lily close to him, kissed her and said, "As usual, you look amazing."

Then he whispered in her ear, "I hope I get to see what's under that later on."

"If you're a good boy," Lily promised impishly. "But now, I think it's time to put this lovely cap and gown on."

Lily shrugged into the green, shapeless piece of cloth, perched the cap jauntily on her head and turned to Keira.

"Yep, you look charming," Keira said teasingly, "just like the rest of us. You know, this is like, the only time, our whole grade will be dressed the same. It's our last school thing together and we're all dressed them same in this special shade of green."

"It's kind of nice," Mia said quietly. "And kind of sad. Oh you guys, it's awfully sad. This is the last thing we're ever going to do at Neptune High."

Tears welled in Mia eyes, as well as Sophie.

"We're going to walk across that stage, get our diplomas, even me, and we'll be done, for ever," Sophie continued dismally.

"We'll never eat lunch together again, never go to class together again," Melanie added woefully.

"Never gossip in the halls again, be gossiped about in the halls again," Keira commented sadly.

"Never whine about homework and assignments together again, never cheer together again," Lily said, in the same forlorn theme.

The five of them all had tears welled in their eyes by this point, and had been holding them in valiantly, but they gave up and started crying.

Their boyfriends, and several other of their friends were standing nearby, talking. They stopped talking and started watching them in amusement and confusion.

"Girls," Ethan muttered.

"Please, no tears," Jim implored to no one in particular.

"Oh, we should be glad they haven't cried more than this," Michael said astutely.

"So, do we do something about them and their tears?" Liam asked.

"Nope, they're just going to want to have their cry out," Chris answered. "Then I bet they'll all check their faces, have a few photos, and that'll be that."

Sure enough, the girls dried their eyes presently, made sure their make-up was still intact, then turned expectantly to the boys.

"Liam, take a photo of the five of us, would you," Lily said, handing him her cell phone.

"What about me?" Liam asked, taking her cell.

"You're next, trust me," Lily answered cheekily.

The girls grouped in together, pasting on their prettiest photo smiles.

"Okay, say 'Mr Clemmons wears ladies' underwear," Liam instructed, in the hope that he'd get some more natural smiles.

The girls all starting giggling and smiling for real and Liam took a few photos.

After that a tremendous amount of photos were taken, in many combinations. The photo of all the 09er seniors took quite some time to set up, but in the end it was managed and it turned out rather well.

At that point they were summoned into the school to take their places for the graduation ceremony.

The seniors poured into the school, bubbling with mirth and life, the tears long vanished. It was time to graduate.

_I did, I've done, everything that I wanted and it was more than I thought it would be, I will leave my mark so everyone will know, I was here_

Lily sat down in her assigned seat, right next to Scott. Their last names being Hunter and Kane didn't really allow for any one to fit alphabetically between them.

"Hi Scott," Lily said softly.

"Hey Lily," Scott returned amiably.

"Are your parents here?" Lily enquired politely.

"Yeah, they're here," Scott answered. "What about you?"

"Oh everyone is here, they're taking the graduating thing pretty seriously," Lily said laughingly. "Oh listen to us, talking about this, we might as well be discussing the weather!"

Scott grinned and said, "Well, you did choose the topic of conversation."

"You're right, oops," Lily replied cheerfully. "I'm glad we're able to talk again, I missed being your friend, and it would've made for a terribly awkward graduation ceremony."

"I'm glad too," Scott agreed. "It wouldn't have been right if we'd finished senior year as enemies."

Lily nodded in agreement. She definitely thought the same as he did. She didn't want to have to regret anything about the past school year, and she gladly didn't. Sure, she'd made mistakes with Scott, but she didn't regret them. At long last she was truly at peace with her choices, and it felt very good.

Presently the graduation ceremony began. There was a musical item, several speeches, then at long last it came time for the seniors to receive their diplomas.

"Keira Anderson," Principal Clemmons announced.

"Liam Armistead…Michael Bingham…Harry Carter…Josh Edgehill, Mia Faulkner…Scott Hunter, Lily Kane," Clemmons continued, making his way through the senior class.

At Lily's name, Duncan, Logan and Dick all stood up and hollered enthusiastically. It was an interesting sight, three of Neptune's wealthiest men, cheering enthusiastically at a high school graduation ceremony.

Veronica snapped a couple of pictures, and watched Lily shake Clemmons' hand as she had done eighteen years ago.

Lily grinned happily at her family and friends and walked off the stage holding her diploma proudly.

"Ethan Masters…Jim Sanderford…Chris Tatlock, Sophie Turner…Melanie Wheeler," Clemmons continued and finished with Melanie.

"Neptune High's class of 2024," Clemmons announced, and the audience applauded the graduates vigorously.

Then the senior class all threw their caps into the air and gave great whoops and cheers.

Lily found Keira and hugged her exuberantly. "We did it, we're done, we graduated!" Lily exclaimed, thoroughly caught up in the excitement of the moment.

At the point the ceremony was over and the senior year milled around, talking, laughing and congratulating one another.

Liam found Lily, kissed her soundly, then they made their way outside together, along with the rest of their class, and their friends and family.

Outside Lily found Veronica and hugged her tightly.

"I'm so proud of you sweetie," Veronica said sincerely. "You were like no other queen of the 09ers, you were the very best. Congratulations."

"Lily-love," Dick boomed, giving Lily a large hug. "I noticed you had some fans in there."

"Yeah, I noticed them too!" Lily said with a giggle. "Thanks, you guys were super."

"Yeah, we were," Logan agreed. "But I think Richard was referring to the press covering the event."

"Press?" Lily asked, confused.

"Yeah, we have pretty good radars when it comes to reporters," Logan replied. "The paparazzi, they let off some sort of malodour I think. Anyway, there was one there, scribbling away, then when you walked across the stage he got a photo or two. Apparently Lilly Kane's namesake, and Jake Kane's granddaughter's graduation is a big enough deal to make the paper."

"Yippee," Lily said sarcastically. "I'm surprised Daddy didn't send him packing."

"I've given up on caring, for the most part," Duncan explained. "There's nothing they can really write on you, and definitely nothing bad. Protesting would just make a scene."

"Well, I hope it's a good picture then, and a good article," Lily replied. "Anyway, I've graduated…"

"Yes, would you like your present?" Duncan asked, knowing that was what she was alluding to.

"Gee, do you think Lily wants her graduation present?" Logan asked Dick in a loud whisper.

"Dude, I don't know. I think having us here was enough of a present. Actually, wasn't that the present?" Dick asked comically.

Mac chuckled a little distractedly at her husband's silliness, all the while keeping an eye on Caroline and holding James.

Veronica had Aubrey rested on her hip and was listening to the conversation with amusement.

"Come on Daddy, you said you had a present for me," Lily implored.

"Go on Duncan, don't let them tease her anymore," Eva instructed, smiling gently.

Duncan pulled an envelope out of his pocket and presented it to Lily.

Lily took it, wondering what was inside. She doubted it was money, she had oodles of that anyway. A plane ticket wasn't likely, they had their own plane. Possibly a letter, but she didn't think that would be her graduation gift.

Lily opened the envelope and read it's contents.

She looked at her father in awe. "Daddy…you bought me a vineyard in France?"

"Well, I didn't actually buy if for you specifically, it is in my name, and it is an investment, but I bought it with you in mind. You can go and spend some of the summer there, it has a pool, stables, it's close enough to the sea. You can stop in Paris before you come home," Duncan explained. "It's all part of your graduation present I guess."

"A vineyard, in France," Lily repeated, still dazed. "Wow. I can't wait to graduate college!"

Duncan chuckled and Lily threw her arms around his neck and said, "Thank you Daddy, it's a wonderful present. You think of the most wonderful things."

"I'm glad you like it," Duncan replied. "Now, lunch? Then you can go off and wildly celebrate with your friends for the rest of the day."

Lily looked and Veronica and said, "Please tell me we're having Italian!"

Veronica merely grinned broadly in response.

_The hearts I have touched, will be the proof that I leave, that I made a difference, and this world will see, I was here_

Lily walked slowly up the stairs to her bedroom after having stuffed herself full of mountains for Italian for lunch. She and Veronica had been a sight to behold, slight and blonde, and packing away platefuls of food. They had both promised Aubrey that they would teach her how to eat like them, and still look good.

"It's all in the genetics," Veronica had whispered conspiratorially to her daughter. "And you munchkin, have extremely good genetics."

Lily loved the meals she shared with her family and friends, they were always filled with great food, love and laughter. She knew she'd be making a special effort to come home for those during college.

Lily hung her dress up in her closet and pulled out a t-shirt of Liam's and slipped it on. She had a free couples of hours before the graduation party and she was going to enjoy them thoroughly. It would be her first truly free time in a long time. There was nothing to study, no homework to complete, no assignments to do and no cheer routines to plan for. She could do whatever she wanted. Lazing around in her boyfriend's t-shirt and watching TV seemed to be the perfect idea.

Lily's lazy TV watching turned into an afternoon nap, and when she woke up the sun was just dipping below the horizon. The house was still, silent and dark. She looked down at her cell phone and saw that she had several missed calls and a bunch of messages.

Liam wanted to know what she was doing, where was she, when did she want to be picked up, could he come over early for some alone time? Lily chuckled and quickly sent him an explanation.

Her dad was letting her know that he and Eva were both working late, seeing as they hadn't gone to work until late. That explained the dark and silent house.

Mia wanted to know what Lily was going to wear, Keira wanted to know if Lily still had her red Christian Louboutins and Sophie wanted to know what time the party actually started. Lily laughed at the things she'd missed while taking an afternoon nap and quickly replied to them all.

Lily dressed quickly, donning a white bandage mini dress and a pair of wedges. The white worked very well against her golden tan. She heard Liam pull up out the front and she dashed to get her cell phone, jacket and purse and rushed down the stairs to open the door for Liam.

He whistled and said, "You look hot babe! I wanted to see what was under the other dress, but this one will do just as well."

The white dress was very short, very tight, and showed an inviting portion of cleavage. It had little cap sleeves and a low back.

Lily laughed and said, "I'm not sure if we have time. I've made us late as it is. Mellie's expecting us."

"Yeah, and a hundred other people. We've got time," Liam replied as he stepped closer and pushed one sleeve of her dress down.

"Well, maybe," Lily said breathily. "How quick do you think you can be?"

Fifteen minutes later Lily was dressed again, as was Liam. Neither of them would look at the entrance foyer of the house the same way again, but it sure held a very good memory.

As they drove to Melanie's house Lily said, "We've made some great memories, you know."

"And we're going to make many more," Liam said confindently. "I promise."

"I know, I can't wait," Lily replied, her mind will with thoughts of the future.

_I was here_

The End

**AN: Thanks for reading everyone! Please review :) I'd love to know what you thought overall!**

**Also, I've got the first chapter of the sequel written, it's called "**_You Get What You Give_**". If anyone is interesting in reading the chapter before I post it, give me a review, or PM me, because I'd love to know if you like where it's going.**

**Also, I just voted for the first time today!**

**Thanks again everyone!**


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